The Magic Kingdom
by Proudofyoubabe
Summary: Just a short tale adapted from Turbo Twenty-three with mostly a Ranger POV. A HEA for more than one Rangeman :). Babe, as always.
1. Chapter 1

**The Magic Kingdom**

 _Just a short tale adapted from Turbo Twenty-three with a Ranger POV. As much of a HEA as Ranger will allow...this time around. Pretty much a spoiler for the whole book. Babe, as always. Actual quotes are in italic._

 _ **Ranger's POV**_

We'd been following leads on Harry Bogart ever since he disappeared from Trenton a few days ago, following the murders of two of his employees. My gut told me they were all dead ends. We had his wife and daughter's cell phone coordinates and they were both down in Florida. The wife, Susan, near Disney World and the daughter in South Beach. Reasons of deduction placed Harry there, too. Hiding in plain sight.

This could look bad for Rangeman and I wanted to make sure our rep wasn't tarnished in any way, even though he hadn't signed on the dotted line for our security protection yet. We were still in the preliminary stages when he disappeared. But that hadn't stopped slanderous allegations before.

I'd asked Stephanie to join me in a search of his home tonight. I'd cleared it, _tentatively_ , with TPD and had already arranged for a Rangeman SUV to be patrolling the area to provide coverage. For all his neighbors knew, he'd already signed us in place. And that was the appearance I was working to achieve.

This was also an excuse to get close to Steph again. And the truth was, even if I was afraid to admit it, I wanted that. I knew she was having mixed feelings about the cop after he ditched her a few months ago. Yes, they were supposedly 'back together', but their 'together' was like a broken piece of china that had been Elmer's-glued back in place. It would fall apart again after the first washing. Engaged to be engaged my ass.

I was picking her up in ten minutes. I'd texted her as soon as I got the call that my men were in position in front of the Bogart house.

She was waiting in the rear lobby of her building when I pulled in. I could see she was 'dressed', but whether or not there were bullets in her gun was another story. Maybe one of these days I could get her to feel comfortable carrying a loaded gun. I'd already secured a concealed carry permit for her. An actual gun that suits her better would be up next. But knowing Steph, it was probably wishful thinking on my part. I had a feeling no matter how trained, no matter how elusive the permit and no matter which gun, it would remain in her cookie jar.

It only took us a few minutes to reach the Bogart home with Manny and Ram still parked in front. I pulled into the driveway and Steph and I both got out and walked up the front steps together. I used my pick and we were inside within twenty seconds. It was always best to appear as though you belong. In fact, if I saw a neighbor I'd engage them in conversation. Might even get some information or a new account out of it. ADT doesn't offer _this_ kind of home security.

 _"No computer,"_ I told Steph after walking into Bogart's home office and closing the drapes for privacy.

"Maybe he took it with him? Although your cameras caught him wearing a pajama top. If he forgot to put a shirt on, chances are, he forgot his laptop, too."

I called Tank to have him check the office security feed. Seems unlikely he'd take a trip and leave his laptop behind. I get a call back 5 minutes later. He had a computer case and a brown paper bag filled with God knows what when he left Bogart's Ice Cream 3 days ago.

After a successful, albeit messy, capture of one of her skips, I drove Steph back to her building. As we pulled into her parking lot I caught sight of Morelli's truck. A lot could happen between here and her apartment, especially since she had been receiving accusatory threats on her door. Cop or not, I escorted her up the second floor and waited while she disengaged her locks. The ever-sharp cop eyes caught sight of me immediately and I nodded a hello to him. We both acknowledged it as the silent signal which meant Steph was now on his watch. I hated this shit but kept my blank face in place as I bid them both a good night with the suggestion of tomato juice to rid her of the bacon grease odor she was currently sporting. I had no desire to see him place a territorial kiss on her lips in my presence. Like it or not, I was going to have to do something about this.

...

Not what I was expecting, but a call came in from her neighbor's apartment at 5:47 am. A distraught-sounding Stephanie was on the other end of this call.

 _"Can you come over and help me with my rodent problem?"_ she asked, the fright evident in her cracking voice.

 _"Does this rodent have a name?"_

 _"Clowny."_ The Bogart ice cream Jolly clown.

 _"Someone will be right there,"_ I may or may not have said to her as I disengaged and ordered a team to her apartment.

Steph doesn't call if she thinks she can handle a situation on her own. Things seemed to be escalating. Shit.

I got there minutes after Calvin and Jones, two newer hires. Steph had already bonded with Calvin so I knew things would be under control. Her door was open and my men were in the hall standing guard. I briefly spoke with them, more intent on seeing Steph. I closed the door behind me and she ran into my arms as soon as she registered that I was there. The waterworks followed immediately.

We held each other close and I kissed her to calm her down. I took her pulse. It was racing.

 _"Wish I could get your heart-rate up his high,"_ I told her, only half-teasing.

We held each other close for a few minutes while I waited for her breathing to return to normal. Steph was the first one to break from the spell.

 _"I'm ok. I was scared but I feel better now."_

 _"Too bad, I like this,"_ I told her, not realizing that I said that out loud.

 _"Me, too,"_ she answered as honestly as I had been. _"My nose is running, I need a tissue,"_ she added as an excuse to break apart.

She told me about the intruder, his knife and the attempt to choke the life out of her while I took a look around her bedroom. There was blood on her lamp which made me smile, Steph could take care of herself.

"And I may have kicked him in the balls. He groaned and dropped the knife and I used the distraction to get away and run upstairs."

 _"We need to talk,"_ I told her, wondering how I could convince her to come and stay at Rangeman with me while this lunatic was on the loose.

 _"Can we do it over breakfast? In order to distract myself I've been thinking about pancakes, eggs, hash browns and bacon. I told myself you'd take me out for breakfast."_

Seriously, _bacon_? After last night?

We ended up going to the diner in Hamilton. Less chance for one of TPDs finest to show up and alert Morelli.

Steph and I talked out all the _what if_ scenarios while she ate and I came to the same conclusion that I did last night. "I think we need to talk to Mrs. Bogart. If I can get us a plane we can be in Orlando by noon."

I think I made that seem harder than it actually was. Rangeman is a partial owner of a NetJets jet and we usually have one on standby. Since Tank was pulled aside for gunpowder residue on a flight to Vegas, I can no longer take the chance of flying on a commercial airline. Private is the only way we'll fly and Steph has been with me on the Citation before. I knew it made her feel like a minor celebrity.

I had work to do on the flight but I noticed Steph deep in thought. Could be about her narrow escape but the smile that formed on her lips had me thinking otherwise. In many ways I was glad she got over things so quickly.

 _"Babe?"_

 _"Um, I know this is about work but do you think we could pay a visit to the Magic Kingdom?"_

 _"I'd rather set myself on fire."_

...

Steph and I found Harry Bogart staying with his wife at the Contemporary Resort. He told us the truth and promised to tell his family just enough so that they would come back to Trenton with him. I'd secured a very nice safe house in Bergen county for their arrival tomorrow and promised to fend off the police for as long as possible. And now, Steph and I were eating frozen yogurt, walking hand-in-hand and going on selective rides at the Magic Kingdom. Yes, I was a hypocrite.

 _"Can we stay for the fireworks, Ranger?"_

I was going to have to stay anyway so that I could bring the Bogarts back in the morning but Steph was free to go. Although I really didn't want to see her leave.

 _"We'd have to get a room?"_

 _"Yes! That would be awesome."_

Looks like my luck just changed. I called the Contemporary Resort and swapped out the room I'd reserved for a suite. Nothing was too good for my little _Disney_ _princess_.

 _"I'm going to need to buy some clothes for tomorrow,"_ she told me, pulling me into a souvenir shop.

 _"Everything has the mouse on it, Babe."_

 _"Not everything. There's some Disney Princess t-shirts and Tinkerbell t-shirts. And I'm going to need some undies. Look,"_ she yelped, _"Buzz Lightyear boxers. You sure you don't want these?"_ Steph asked, taking them from the shelf to show me.

 _"I'll go commando,"_ I told her. No way was I going to wear anything with cartoon figures on it.

 _"I think it has to be illegal to go commando at Disney. I can take you to infinity and beyond if you're wearing these,"_ she teased.

 _"Think you're going to take me there anyway,"_ I told her. After all, she'd just happily consented to spend the night with me.

I could see her getting a little flustered but the allure of fireworks quickly erased her unease. She paid for her overpriced purchases and we headed back out onto Main Street. We walked around and went on a couple of rides but I took a hard stand when she stopped in front of the Teacup. No way was I getting on that. We stayed for the fireworks, then leisurely walked to the pier to get a water taxi to take us back to our hotel. If I examined this closely, I'd probably not like what I saw. But I wasn't planning on examining anything at the moment; I was under the spell of Stephanie Plum.

I checked my email and listened to voicemail as we sped through the man-made lagoon to the Contemporary. I had an arm around Steph and she was purring contentedly as the backsplash from the boat gently sprayed us. I leaned down and gave her a kiss. It was supposed to be gentle, to let her know that I was happy being here with her, but it quickly turned heated.

"Wow," she said when we broke apart.

Yeah, wow. "Appetizer, Babe."

I let things cool down as we took the elevator up to our bay-view suite. The decision to be intimate had to come from Steph and I had a feeling she was having second thoughts. She got quiet but was looking at me intently as I called Hal to check on Bogart.

 _"He's still there and we'll get a call if either of them move,"_ I informed her. She was still looking stupefied and I was pretty sure it wasn't from the kiss we shared earlier. _"Babe?"_

 _"It's our goals. They're different,"_ she mumbled out of nowhere.

 _"Not at the moment,"_ I told her and she made a pissy face that could only have come from something she'd been thinking.

Since she reads my body language so well I raised an eyebrow to get her to explain.

 _"One of my long term goals, although fuzzy, is for marriage and kids. There's no marriage in your future."_

 _"This is true,"_ I told her honestly. At least as honest as I wanted to be with her right now. Although, sometimes I think about her and I cohabiting.

 _"I need a man who shares my goals."_

 _"Do you have someone in mind?"_

 _"Morelli."_

I had to smile. Once again she was using him as an excuse so she wouldn't have to sleep with me. If it were really true, I'd respect it but I knew he was a piss-poor reason for this discussion.

 _"He's been stringing you along since you're five. I don't see him any closer to marriage today than he was then."_

 _"We might be engaged to be engaged."_

 _"You're not sure?"_

That must have struck a chord with her because she got quiet again and I could see her thought processes working. Suddenly, again out of nowhere, she yelled out.

 _"Sonovabitch."_

I watched her go from introspective to raging beast. And I was aware that all her energies were now focused on me. Her eyes were dilated into fight or flight survival as she launched herself at me.

 _"Bring it on,"_ she said. _"Let's see what you've got."_

Never one to back away from a challenge, I made quick work of pinning her to the wall so I could kiss her thoroughly. She was rubbing herself against me and since _I_ wanted to be the one in charge of our destiny, I picked her up and carried her into the bedroom, discarding some clothing along the way.

Steph mentioned earlier that this was the happiest place on earth and while I wouldn't necessarily agree with that statement, I was pretty happy at the moment. She had practically torn the clothes from my body, which would have been kind of sexy if I had something else to replace them with, and was currently licking her way down my chest. I knew where she was headed and I'd put a stop to it if it meant my pleasure before hers. I was not looking for a quick release. In fact, I'm a firm believer in slow and steady winning the race.

I flipped her over and took control. She was arching and bucking under my skillful fingers within minutes.

"Ranger," she moaned, coming for me.

I let her heart rate return to normal before continuing to appreciate her and all the wonderful things her body could do. We'd spent time in bed together before and I knew she could keep up with me. We were recovering from yet another round of some of the best passion I have ever had when I heard her mumble under her breath. "Fucking billiards table."

"Babe?"

"Sorry. It's nothing. I didn't mean..."

Of course she did or she wouldn't have said anything. I could pursue it now or I could have Tank do a little snooping. I was sure this was related to the cop in some way and I was about to give Tank an assignment. Good thing I could compartmentalize things or I'd be angry at the way Morelli treated her. Instead, I opted to concentrate on the pleasure we were giving each other.

I awoke a little before 3 am. I wasn't quite sure what I was feeling until I saw a curly mass of tangles leaning over my lower body taking my manhood into her mouth. It seemed that Steph wanted another go around. Of course I reciprocated.

I was fully awake at 5 and went down to the gym at the resort. I was hoping Steph would still be asleep when I returned. I didn't want her to think I'd run out on her after a night of what I can only describe as phenomenal sex. I still had mixed feeling about sending her back the cop every time we got close, and now was no different. If my life wasn't what it is, I'd claim her for myself and let that dick Morelli try to figure out what happened. I'd already texted Tank to see if he could find anything out about the 'billiards' comment but so far no answer. Not that I'd be expecting one before first rotations of the day started anyway.

I headed back to the room after an hour of weights and cardio. It was the minimum to get by but it would have to suffice. We had a 9 am flight and I needed to pack up the Bogarts. Thankfully the daughter came back here last night so we didn't have to go down to South Beach to get her. For once things were progressing smoothly.

I took a quick shower, then went back to the bed to wrap myself around Sleeping Beauty. I pulled her close and breathed in her scent. Heavenly.

"Ranger?" she asked, waking to the ministrations my fingers were performing.

"It's only 6:30 you can sleep another half hour," I told her, currently way too comfortable for my own good.

"Mmmm, thank you, Ranger," she mumbled, nodding off again.

I guess I nodded, too. I woke up with a start when the alarm on my watch went off at 7, my hand still cupping her naked breast.

"If you want to take a shower and grab something to eat, we need to get up."

"Ok," she said, pulling the covers away immediately. I was sure it was the allure of breakfast that got her out of bed this morning.

I was dressed and checking my email and texts when I heard the shower turn off. Minutes later Steph was standing before me.

 _"Are you coming to breakfast with me? Goofy might be there,"_ she asked me seriously, as if Goofy was a real person.

 _"I'll pass. I'll have something sent up."_

 _"You'll be sorry. You'll miss the Mickey Mouse waffles."_

It was then that I looked up at her. Her hair was in a ponytail, mascara was on both eyes and a tight Tinkerbell t-shirt was showing off her lovely breasts.

 _"Nice t-shirt, Babe."_

 _"That's nothing, look at this,"_ she said, unzipping her jeans to flash me the Tinkerbell underwear.

I pocketed my phone as my body focused on the prize.

 _"Are you really commando?"_ she asked.

 _"Only one way to find out. How badly do you want those waffles?"_

It didn't take her long to decide. She launched herself at me in seconds.

Good thing we didn't have anything to pack and I'd already settled the bill. The buzz from my phone told me that Hal and our car were already downstairs. We were going to be late. I don't do late.

The two of us cleaned up together and met Hal and the Bogarts in the lobby. I didn't say anything about our tardy arrival and Hal knew better than to ask. It was a short ride to the airport and we drove straight onto the tarmac. Everyone boarded and we were safely in the air minutes later.

There were pastries, donuts, coffee, bagels, smoked salmon and low fat cream cheese in the small kitchenette of the plane and we all served ourselves. I couldn't help but laugh at Steph who piled at least one of everything onto her small paper plate.

"This is soooo good, Ranger," she said between bites. "How did you know we were going to be hungry?"

 _We?_ "Just a guess, Babe." We gave up breakfast for sex this morning so I texted NetJets from the car. _Extra provisions, please._

We landed at Trenton-Mercer on time and Steph asked to be driven directly to the Bond's office. I had some things to look into, including that 'billiards table', so I kissed her goodbye with the promise of seeing her later and yet another invitation to stay at Rangeman until the killer was apprehended. And yes, Hal caught the whole exchange. Good thing he knew to keep his mouth shut. Well, at least where Steph and I were concerned.

"Got the billiards story," Tank texted me just before my arrival into the garage at Haywood.

"And?"

"The cop put his dining room table out with the trash last Wednesday and a top of the line, _custom_ , billiards table was delivered on Thursday. Lula thinks Steph assumed he was saving his money for a ring."

Now it made sense. Morelli was an ass, although I wasn't sure what I would do had he actually bought her that ring. I took the stairs to five and was met by Tank before I even opened the stairwell door.

His hands were folded over his chest and he looked intimidating, even to me.

"Man up Rangeman or you're going to lose her and I don't want to be here for the aftermath."

I was pretty sure they'd be no aftermath since I was pretty sure there'd be no engagement. I went about my day and got a call from Steph around 4.

"Just checking in. Any news?"

"I have the Bogarts in the safe house and Harry handed over all the documents I'd asked for. So far I'm not seeing any connection, although I have someone tracing offshore holding companies and keeping an eye on his business. Feels mob related."

We disconnected and much to my disappointment Steph never mentioned anything about seeing me afterward.

The call from Morelli came an hour later.

"Lula just called me from Stark Street. They've taken Steph. Do you have any men in the area? I'm ten minutes out."

I put out an APB and knew my men would respond. I dropped my paperwork, grabbed Tank and the Cayenne and headed out too. Manny and Cal called as we were minutes away. They found Lula and had also found people on Stark willing to talk. Steph was chasing a man down the street with her gun out when she was hit by a black Mercedes. Brett and Ernesto found the car in front of a funeral parlor with its front quarter dented in. The car was registered to Jeff Soon, the _very recent_ COO at Bogart ice cream. I went straight to the address they gave me. Morelli's POS cop car was out in front as well as Lula's Firebird, 2 TPB black and whites, 3 Rangeman SUVs and an EMS truck.

Lula had already burst in and was making her way down to the cold storage. The cop and I were right behind with an EMS team. Lula fearlessly pulled open drawers. On her 3rd attempt she came face-to face with Stephanie who opened her eyes in shock. Lula passed out, right into the arms of Tank. The cop took over, releasing Steph's holdings and roughly pulling her into his arms.

"My leg," she yelled as he drew her to him, "I think it's broken." If it wasn't before, it would be now. Doesn't that man know how to be gentle?

He seemed to be running the show so I backed off. But not before I was sure that Steph was going to be alright and knew that I had been there.

Once again my heart was hurting. Maybe Tank was right. Maybe it was time for me to man up.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Magic Kingdom**

 **Chapter 2**

Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews and PMs. Most people asked for another chapter where our man of mystery finally man's up. I'm trying to keep him in character here but I'm finding it's a slow road to recovery for him. I think it's going to take yet _another_ chapter for him to fully get there. Please read and let me know what you think so far. Thanks again and happy new year!

 _ **A Ranger POV, continued**_

I took in the 360° overview of the situation while deciding what to do. Morelli had put himself in charge and was bossing everyone around. The EMS workers were immobilizing Steph's leg before taking her to St. Francis for further evaluation and most likely a cast. Tank was attending to Lula, making sure there were no residual effects from her fainting spell. He looked to me before volunteering to drive her home in her car. Trenton's finest was carting away Soon, Kwan and a number of their goons. Everything seemed to be under as much control as it could be so I nodded my departure to Morelli before heading back to Haywood, leaving Manny and Cal at the site.

Knowing my men as I do, I knew Brett and Ernesto would follow the ambulance to St. Francis and give me a full report. I really wasn't needed and at the moment Morelli was pissing me off with his take charge attitude.

I tried to get some paperwork done but I couldn't concentrate and seemed to be reading the same legal lines over and over again. I finally gave up and called Brett for an update on Steph.

"Her tibia is broken between the knee and the ankle. There was very little displacement," he told me, probably reading from a chart. "They've put her in a cast, no surgery was necessary. Looks like she's been okayed to go home as long as a responsible adult takes her."

"Morelli?"

"Yeah. He's signed all the papers for her release. He's probably going to take her back to his place. Want us to follow?"

I didn't have to ask them to be discreet, I knew they would.

"Keep me in the loop."

I gave the paperwork another shot. I didn't want to hire anyone for that role yet and I knew I could do it if I weren't distracted. An hour and a half later it was all done. Locking away the checkbook and corporate seal, I headed up to my apartment.

After about twenty minutes of pacing, my phone rang. Brett.

"Morelli just dropped Steph off at her apartment. He was in and out. We're following him now to see where he's going. Some responsible adult he's turning out to be."

"Is she able to get around?"

"She left the hospital with crutches and a quick lesson but she seems a little _challenged_ by them."

"Let me know where he goes and if he returns. I don't want her by herself if she's taking pain meds." I quickly looked up Bobby's schedule in case I needed him.

"Brown has the next two days off," I told Brett. Bones took over the job of medic when Brown was on leave but was nowhere near as battle-trained as Bobby. I was mentally trying to figure out how to get him back when Brett answered the question I never posed to him.

"Bobby didn't go anywhere. He said he needed sleep so I'd assume he's in his apartment."

"Thanks man," I disconnected and stared at my phone for a minute or two before finally pocketing it. I'd give the cop the benefit of the doubt until I heard otherwise. Maybe he left to pick up prescriptions or food. Steph had been at the hospital for over four hours; she was probably hungry.

Another call from Brett told me that Morelli had made two stops. The CVS on Liberty Street and then on to Pinos. He was currently making his way up to Steph's apartment with a large pie.

Guessed I wasn't going to be needed tonight after all. Instead of being relieved, the thought made me sad, so I called her.

"Yo," she answered, a smile in her voice.

"Are you ok?"

"Better now."

She didn't just say that, did she?

"Do you need me?"

"Morelli's here."

"You didn't answer me."

"My leg really is broken and they put me in a cast. Looks like I'll need to figure out my life for the next 12 weeks. I won't be able to bounty hunt."

"You can always run searches for me, Babe. Rodriquez can use the help."

"I don't want a pity job."

"You've done this for me before. You know it's not a pity job."

"Yeah but it makes my ass numb."

Ass numb or no income? Sometimes I didn't understand her. And it wasn't like she'd be able to get a part-time job on the line at the paper products plant with a broken leg.

"I'm surprised Morelli didn't take you to his house?" I changed the subject.

"I wouldn't go. He has stairs and I was afraid I'd trip over Bob and break the other leg."

Morelli really needed to train that dog _._

I hadn't heard from Steph since the incident. Usually she calls me, at least to check in. I knew if I asked any of my men, I'd get the answer I was searching for. _Was Morelli staying with her at her apartment?_ Curiosity finally got the better of me and I drove over. No green Bronco. No POS maroon Corolla or silver Civic. It didn't look like Morelli was there.

I pulled into a vacant spot by her back door and took the stairs up to two. I heard the TV so I knew she was there and sent her a quick text so I wouldn't scare the shit out of her by disengaging her locks.

 _I'm at your front door. I can let myself in if you can't get up._

Seconds later the door was opened by MoonMan Dunphy, aka Mooner. I wondered what he was doing here?

"Cool beans, man. You've come to see our Sleeping Beauty." Funny he called her that. Sleeping Beauty was one of my pet names for her.

I saw Steph on the couch. Her leg was propped up under some pillows and she looked like she needed a shower and a good night's sleep.

"Babe?" My way of asking how was she doing.

"Who knew a broken leg could be such a pain in the ass."

"Hasn't Morelli been taking care of you?"

"Uh... He got pulled in on a gang-related triple-homicide and hasn't been here since Tuesday."

Tuesday? That was the day she broke her leg.

"Why didn't you call?"

"I didn't want to bother you...and Mooner could use the freelance."

She was _paying_ Dunphy to take care of her?

"Have you been eating?"

"Morelli put a few Stouffer's family-sized Mac and Cheese in my freezer before he left but getting from here to there is kind of _challenging_." The same word Brett used.

"Do you want to come to Rangeman? Ella can cook for you and Bobby is back in the office today so he can monitor your leg."

"I don't want to upset the apple cart."

"The apple cart is already upset," I told her, referring to myself instead of some proverbial push cart. "Let's grab Rex and some clothes. We can call Ella on the way and she'll have lunch waiting."

Steph didn't argue with me so I knew she really was having trouble getting around.

"Do you think Ella can help me with a shower?"

I was going to tell her that Ella wasn't necessary since _I_ could help her but Mooner seemed to be intently listening to our conversation and I wasn't sure if she wanted those words repeated. _If he could even remember I said them._ Instead, I simply nodded in reply and took the large duffel bag she used as a suitcase out of her closet.

I pulled some bills from my wallet and handed them to Mooner. Wasn't sure what rate she'd negotiated but there was at least $200 there; certainly enough for a day and a half's worth of work.

"The Mooner thanks you," he said doing a fast count and coming over to give me a hug. I don't do hugs, except with Steph, so I stepped back and glared at him.

Mooner quickly got the message, hugged Steph instead and exited the apartment.

Steph still hadn't gotten up from the couch even though the crutches were right there, leaning against it. I didn't know what to pack for her and wanted to see what she could or couldn't do, so I lent her my arm to help her stand and held the crutches out to her with the other.

She took them from me and I could immediately see what part of the problem was; the crutches were too tall to fit correctly under her arms. They were adjustable and either the cop didn't realize her plight or was in too much of a hurry to care. I explained to Steph what I was going to do. I made the overall height close to 3" shorter, adjusted the hand grips and handed them back to her.

"Better?"

"Oh God, yes. Thank you Ranger. I didn't know that these could be fixed. Maybe it'll be easier to get around now?"

I hoped she wasn't going to re-neg on staying with me. I did a quick scan of her cast and realized for the first time that it was a full leg one. That meant, crutches or not, she shouldn't be standing or walking on it too much.

"What did they tell you about walking around?"

"I don't remember. Joe was listening and signing things for me."

 _And Joe was not here._

"Let's get Bobby's take," I said, pulling my phone out and punching in a number for him. After a short back and forth I handed Steph my phone.

"Your knee has been immobilized to help with the healing," Bobby said over the speaker I had slipped on before turning the phone over to her. "That means you really shouldn't put too much pressure on it until a callus starts to form."

"I'm pretty sure I have calluses on my feet already," she responded.

"Different kind of callus. The kind I'm referring to happen in the early stages of new bone development. Around 8 weeks after the initial break. Ranger tells me you're going to be staying with us so I can monitor that with X-rays."

"That long, huh?"

"'Fraid so, Steph. There's no way to speed that up except good nutrition and staying off of it until the bone can support your weight."

"Damn," she mumbled under her breath. "Thanks Bobby," she said into the phone before sighing and handing my communications device back to me.

I hung up and made short work of helping her grab some clothes, underwear and personal supplies to fill the duffel. I could always send Ella over, or out to a store, if she needed anything further.

I helped her to the elevator and then out to the car, the duffle over my shoulder. I was glad I'd taken the Cayenne since getting in and out of the low-slung 911 would be difficult, if not impossible, right now. I relaxed slightly as we headed to Haywood, feeling better than I had since seeing her pulled from the cold-storage bin.

I went back up to get Rex and then, true to my word, I called Ella to set up lunch and let her know that Steph and the rat would be staying with me _indefinitely_ , although I didn't use that word.

"Lunch request, Babe?"

"Um...a Pinos meatball sub with extra sauce and lots of cheese?"

"Remember what Bobby said about good nutrition?" I wasn't trying to be a ball buster, just realistic.

"Um. Yeah." Sigh. "I'll have turkey on toasted whole grain, with lettuce, tomatoes and a little mayo. But I don't want to make extra work for Ella," she added.

"It's her job and she's happy to make you anything you want," I told Steph with Ella agreeing on the other end.

Steph didn't put up any additional resistance but she did sigh as we drove past Pinos. She was uncharacteristically quiet the rest of the way to Haywood and as I turned into the underground parking area. I had asked Ramon to move my cars around so the space closest to the elevator would be open for us. Thankfully that had already been accomplished so I parked and helped Steph down from the SUV. The cast was unwieldy and although the crutches were at the correct height now, she was still having trouble getting around.

 _And Morelli left her like this?_

I can understand why she wouldn't want to stay with her parents' but I still didn't fully understand why she didn't call me. I've always told her 'no price'. I'd have to examine my recent words and actions to see if I were to blame. Our last few hours together were on the flight back from Disney on Tuesday. Steph seemed happy after our night and morning together and was especially jubilant at the breakfast banquet I'd had sent to the Citation. It seemed that somewhere between noon Tuesday and now, things went downhill. I can understand getting hit by a car, breaking a leg, being abducted and waking up in a mortuary's cold storage as reasons to cancel out a good mood but I was sensing something else. Morelli? _Me?_ Perhaps she'd talk to Ella if I weren't around.

"Babe, will you be ok by yourself for a little while?" I asked, getting her comfortable on my couch and putting the Food Network on TV as requested. _The Food Network?_ "I need to take care of a few things downstairs. Ella should be up soon with lunch and I'll be back shortly."

"I'll be fine. You're coming back though, right?"

Was that disappointment I was sensing? Did she think I'd abandon her, too?

"I'm going to unload everything that's currently on my plate to our lawyers and Tank so I can be here for you. That shouldn't take me more than an hour."

"Can you ask Ella to stay and help me shower? I can't get this thing wet," she said pointing to her cast, "so I'll need a large garbage bag and some duct tape, too."

I wanted to help but until I got to the bottom of her unhappy state I'd gladly let Ella take over. Her easy-going personality and a few direct questions would probably do more than I could accomplish in the same amount of time.

"Let me see if Bobby has a cast protector downstairs. It's easier to use than a plastic bag and should keep you drier."

I made the call while talking to her.

"There's a few of them in his infirmary," I told her, hanging up my phone. "He's patrolling with Santos right now, so I'll just help myself. Be back in a few."

"Ok."

I found the full leg protector exactly where Bobby told me it would be and also used the time to call Ella to ask about a shower for Steph and a little undercover work for me.

"Of course I can. Poor Steph, I can't believe that Detective Morelli would just leave her like that. Why didn't she call you? Why didn't she call me?"

My questions, too. "Well, see what you can find out. We spent a couple of really nice days together at Disney World and now she seems distant," I added to Ella, knowing she'd be discreet.

"You took her to Disney? How romantic!"

"It wasn't like that, we went down there to bring back a missing person."

"Well, maybe it _should have been_ like that. No wonder she's drifting away from you," Ella told me bluntly. "I'll get to the bottom of this," she added, remembering who she was talking to.

I headed back upstairs with the cast protector, Ella's words still ringing in my ear.

I showed Steph what I'd picked up from the infirmary and explained how to use it. I was just about to head back down to parse out my work when Ella came through the door with lunch and a basket of hair products that looked surprisingly like Steph's brand.

"I had these under my sink," she said, noting that my eyes went straight to the Mr. Alexander label. Ella's hair is stick-straight so I knew she didn't purchase them for herself and I didn't say anything further. I mumbled that I'd be up in about an hour and grabbed one of the sandwiches to bring down with me. I didn't want to interfere with girl time.

 _ **Ella's POV**_

"Do you want to eat first...or shower first?" I asked Steph setting the hair care products down on the ottoman beside the couch. I'd left the sandwich and a piece of the marble cake I make for Louis on the breakfast bar. I had a feeling that Steph might want to take a shower first.

"Shower! Oh, please. Thank you Ella."

I offered my hand in support as Steph tried to get up from the couch. I didn't think this was going to work since she couldn't bend her right leg and I was a little too short to have a height advantage. I was about to call on one of the men when I realized if we just wiggled our way over to the end of the couch she'd be able to use the arm rest for leverage. And that's what we did...and it worked like a charm.

I helped her through the bedroom and into the bathroom. I turned on the water and helped her with her clothes. Together we put on the cast protector and it was then that I realized the cast was tippy and she couldn't stand up by herself very well. Ranger's bathroom doesn't have handicap grab bars to hold on to so I did what I had to do-stripped and got into the shower with her.

I let her do her own showering but I offered my support so she wouldn't fall.

We got out and dried off. Her hair was dripping down her back so I used the large tooth comb to separate the curls before removing the excess water with a towel. I gave her Ranger's robe to put on. It sits behind the bathroom door and I doubt _he's_ ever worn it. She seemed so exhausted after her shower that I thought it might be better than getting her dressed right away. Besides, I didn't think she wanted to wear the same yoga pants and stretchy top that she came in with.

"I'm sorry, Ella, " she said, bursting into tears. "I got you all wet and I'm sure you still have a million things to do today.

"Hush, honey. It's ok but I don't understand why you waited so long to call us?"

"I didn't want to burden any of you. Ranger does so much for me and I can't pay him back."

"I don't think he wants to be paid back. We all care about you, Steph. And I'm pretty sure he loves you."

"Yeah...in his own way."

"That's the only way any of us love someone. In our own way. What makes him any different?"

"Because I don't know what he wants from me. And I'm afraid I'll get hurt."

"Let's see Steph...I've known you for about three years...and you've known Ranger longer. Has he ever hurt you?"

"No...and he wouldn't. But I haven't given him my heart yet. Well, not in any way he would notice."

There it was. I'd have to have a talk with that boy.

I helped her to the kitchen and gave her the sandwich I'd made for her. I'd added in a few extras that I knew she'd enjoy, like a piece of roasted pepper and my own windowsill-grown basil whipped into the mayonnaise.

"Oh, this is soooo good, Ella. I don't know how you can make an ordinary turkey sandwich taste soooo good."

"I cheated a little for you. I put in a half of a roasted yellow pepper and my own freshly grown herbs. It's Louis' favorite. I also brought you a piece of marble cake that I made for him."

"I don't want to eat all of Louis' food."

"Don't worry. There's more where that came from. Do you want some clean clothes and maybe a French braid before I head down to start on snacks for the guys?"

"Yes, please. I've been wearing the same clothes for 3 days. I didn't want to ask Mooner to help me change and I knew I couldn't do it on my own."

"Mooner?"

"A friend from high school. He's kind of _entrepreneurial_ and could use a few bucks now and again. I asked him to come over and help me after Joe left."

I started French-braiding her hair while we continued our conversation. I knew the relaxing scalp massage I was giving her would help to loosen her tongue.

"Don't mind my asking but what kind of relationship do you have with these men?"

"Mooner is just a friend. And Joe is my on-again, off-again boyfriend. I thought we might be heading towards something more, like becoming engaged to be engaged but he just showed me his true colors. He replaced his dining room table with a custom pool table. You don't do that if you're thinking of marriage and kids, do you?" "And I don't even like pool," she added.

"No, that's not a marriage move. And I think he's shown you more than his true colors; his actions prove that he's not even reliable when you need him the most. What's you're relationship with Ranger?"

She turned beet red before answering. "I think I'm dessert...and I amuse him. He's told me he's not relationship material."

"Could have fooled me. He worries about you probably more than he worries about Rangeman. I know he has deep feelings for you."

"But he's not marriage material. He's told me himself."

"Do you really need that piece of paper to be happy with a man?"

"Um. My mother..."

"Don't worry about what other people think, do _you_ need that sacrament?"

"No. Not particularly, although it shows commitment."

"You don't think Ranger is committed to you?"

I heard the lock turning in the front door. I knew Ranger was back and it was time to stop this line of questioning. But hopefully I'd planted a few seeds.

"How are my two favorite ladies doing?" Ranger asked, his words uncharacteristically charming as he joined us in the kitchen.

"We're good. I was able to help Steph take a shower and she's just finishing up lunch. Give us a few minutes and I'll be done with her hair and can help her into fresh clothes. You did bring some, I hope?"

"There's clothing in the duffel bag," Steph told me. "Ranger, if you can bring it over, I'll pick out something."

Like a love-sick puppy he was right at her side with the open carryall.

 _ **Ranger's POV**_

Ella flashed me a look while Steph was digging around in the duffel. It was the kind of look that had me believing she'd already uncovered the reason for Steph's standoffishness. I hoped so. And I hoped it was something rectifiable.

I helped Steph into my bedroom and Ella followed with the clothes Steph had picked out. I left them alone, closed the door and went back to the living room where I shot Ella a short text.

 _Tell me what you've learned._

I knew I wouldn't get an answer right away but I needed to know and I didn't want her to get so involved in her other daily chores that she'd forget to tell me. I also noticed that Ella's hair was wet so I assumed she had to get into the shower with Steph. Another text was in order.

 _And thank you for everything today._

A few minutes later Ella and Steph came out of my bedroom. Steph wearing another pair of wide-legged yoga pants and a stretchy crisscross top that separated her breasts sensually.

Ella had her dirty laundry bundled up in her hand.

"I noticed what you brought," she told the two of us, "and I doubt half of that will fit over Steph's cast. Is it ok if I pick up a few things?"

"Use your corporate card," I told her while Steph glared at me.

A conversation was in order.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

 _ **Ranger's POV**_

"You don't have to buy clothes for me, Ranger. I have money and a credit card that Ella can use."

I knew her financial situation as well as she did and although she had this month's rent made and a little extra saved for emergencies, that wouldn't last long if she couldn't bring in any skips. I'd try again to come up with a part time position she might enjoy, but right now Silvio was buried in background checks and Stephanie knew the programs.

"I know, Babe. But when you're up to it I could really use your help with some searches. We can call it an even trade. I bet it felt good to take a shower?" I added hoping to move the subject away from where it currently seemed to be headed.

"Yeah. I was feeling really icky after three days in the same clothes. Ella is a saint. She had to get into the shower with me because I was wobbly in the cast and we both thought I might fall."

I'd recently given her a raise but I would throw her a bonus for that.

"She is special. We're very lucky to have her here." I was going to ask her why she wasn't able to freshen up a bit but I already knew the answer. Joe cut out on her and she was too embarrassed to ask Mooner for help. "I see she left you a piece of cake, would you like that now?"

"Well I know you don't eat sweets, so I was kind of saving it for later."

"I have a feeling Ella will bring you dessert with dinner, too. She likes you."

"Well maybe not so much anymore. I was pretty difficult today."

"I'm sure she's dealt with worse. She volunteered to help Manny while he was recuperating from a bullet wound and Manny is not easy on a good day." Changing the subject again, I asked her, "So, tell me what it is about your latest addiction to the Food Network?"

"You're going to think I'm crazy but when I was um, struggling financially because Vinny was light on skips and I was only eating...um...peanut butter and olive sandwiches, I'd put on Guy Fieri and make believe I was having triple cheeseburgers and fries right along with him. It was kind of comforting. And he does this for a living! Oh God, do you think he'd marry me?"

"Pretty sure he's taken, Babe."

"Well a girl can dream, can't she?"

"You find him attractive?" I asked about the pudgy star of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.

"Kind of. Maybe. Not really. He's got great taste in food though."

Once we got that out of the way and I'd adjusted the channel for her, I couldn't think of anything else to do. I'd cleared my schedule but sitting around and watching television was even more foreign to me than not working. I decided to give conversation another try.

"Bobby was able to get your records from St. Francis electronically transferred here. The X-rays were among them so he'll be able to monitor your progress."

"Now that he's had a chance to look at them does he still think I'll be out of commission for 3 months?"

"He didn't say but we can ask him."

"Not now. I'd rather live in denial land a little longer."

"Then what would you like to do? Binge-watch _The Night Of_? Download some video games? Learn how to knit?"

"Ewwww Ranger, what makes you think I'd want to learn to knit?"

"You didn't respond to my first two suggestions so I was trying something different. I don't think I'm very good at this hanging out stuff...but I'm willing to try."

"So Triple Ds is making you a little crazy?" she asked, smirking at me.

A little? You've seen one episode, you've seen them all. But since this show seemed to pacify her I wasn't going to cast it any aspersions. In fact I didn't answer at all. I've used the History Channel as white noise in the past; I gathered this was similar.

When I couldn't take it any longer, I got up. "I think I'm going to give Ella the night off."

Steph looked at me with panic in her eyes.

"Don't worry, _I'll_ make dinner. I'm feeling like paella. You?"

"You know how to make paella?"

"Among other things. I'll need to get some chicken, seafood and chorizo but I'm pretty sure we have everything else."

She stood there looking at me with her mouth open.

"Who are you and what have you done with my Ranger?"

I loved that she called me _her_ Ranger. "Same person, Babe. Just multi-faceted. I'd ask if you want to help but I think you should stay off your leg. Do you need anything before I call Ella? I may have to run out to a store."

"Do you even know where the closest grocery store is?"

"No, but I'm sure Ella can tell me." That was the truth. And I can't even remember the last time I set foot in a grocery store. But hey, the things we do for the people we love.

I made a quick call to Ella. She thanked me for the evening off and said she was going to use the time to bake something special for Steph. _I might have created a monster._ And since she only had frozen shrimp downstairs I had to go out. I double checked on ingredients, preparation and directions to the closest grocery store where I'd be able to find fresh seafood. Considering that I hadn't made paella since I was a kid with my abuela Rosa, my memory served me pretty well.

I once again asked Steph if she'd be ok if I went out. She seemed to be mesmerized by Guy and barely acknowledged me. Maybe I could win her back with _my_ culinary skills, I joked to myself.

I had to drive to Giovichinni's in the Burg to get the meat and seafood I needed. I hoped I wouldn't bump into any of the Plums or Morellis. I was looking for an easy in/easy out so I could get back to Steph and fill my penthouse with the smells of my childhood.

Unfortunately, an easy out wasn't in the cards. Steph's friend from high school, Gina Giovichinni, was manning the register and recognized me.

"I understand Stephie Plum broke a leg and Joey is looking all over for her," she asked looking at me pointedly.

"I don't know anything about _Joey_ ," I emphasized Joey. "But someone left her all alone for close to 3 days. _Joey_ better not cross paths with me if he knows what's good for him," I told her, taking my package and leaving before the inquisition hit.

When I got back to the apartment Steph was in the same position that she was when I left her. And Guy Fieri was taking a bite of something that looked like it could send him to an early grave.

"Babe. Gina Giovichinni was at the checkout. She said _Joey_ has been trying to find you. Have you checked your phone lately?"

"Um no," she said looking all around for her bag.

I quickly retrieved it for her and she dug around in it for her phone. "Two messages from my mother. One from Val. One from Mary Lou and a missed call from Joe; no message."

"You might want to call him back."

"Why would I want to do that? I'm still mad at him for leaving me alone with crutches that didn't fit and a refrigerator that was too far away."

"The distance from the couch to the refrigerator isn't his fault. Everything else is and he might have something to say for himself." An apology would be in order. Although I doubted he'd give one. The man was just too enamored with himself for his own good. I also wanted to hear how she handled him. I could use a little insight into their unhealthy dynamic.

"I can start dinner while you listen to your messages and return some calls." I had a feeling all four of them said the same thing: _Joe called here looking for you._

I knew there was a paellera in with the pots and pans that Ella stocked my kitchen with, since I remembered seeing it. I took it out of the drawer and washed it off since I doubted it had ever been used. It was probably purchased in anticipation of me making paella for the company that I never have.

After I dried it off I put it on the stove and added oil to the bottom. I washed and patted the chicken thighs and added them to my hot pan to brown. While they were getting golden I chopped the chorizo and added it to the same pan. I flipped the chicken and sausage and let the other side brown up too. When they were done, I removed them and added the chopped peppers, onion and garlic to the oil still in the pan. Once the onion was translucent I added the chicken stock, salt and wine. I let this all cook together while I strained to hear Steph's conversation.

"Why would he call everyone I could possibly be staying with when he left me stranded, Mare?" "I finally called Mooner and offered to pay him to help me out. And then I didn't want him to see me naked so I didn't take a shower or change my clothes for a couple of days." "Well, Ranger came to check on me this morning and I could tell that he was angry. Not at me, but at my situation. He kind of convinced me to stay with him so Ella could help me shower and cook for me and Bobby could monitor my progress."

This was all true. Then I heard her giggle.

"But you want to know what?" she continued. "Ella isn't even making dinner, Ranger is. He gave her the night off since she helped me this afternoon." "He's making paella." "I don't know. He seems to know what he's doing. He wants me to call Joe. What do you think? Should I?" "Well, I guess I can let him speak first. I really have no idea what he wants." "Ok, thanks Mare."

She hung up from that call.

"Learn anything, Babe?" I called out from the kitchen.

"Joe called Mary Lou thinking I was staying with her. He told her he'd also called my mother and sister, so I guess he was trying to find me. Mare says I should call him. I don't know, I'm still mad at him."

"Let him talk first. You'll learn what he wants then."

"That's what Mare said, too. How long do I have before dinner? I think I want to call my mom and Val first...in case he told them more than he told Mare."

"Make your calls," I told her. "You have about an hour."

While she spoke to her mother and sister, I listened with one ear while I added the rice and my cooked meats back into the pan with some saffron. This had to simmer while I made the seafood and let the oven come to temperature.

"No new news," Steph called out while I was sautéing the shrimp and scallops. My abuela used mussels, clams and lobster as well, but I was foregoing the mollusks and had Giovichinni's already boil a lobster and cut up the tail for me. I didn't think Steph liked mussels and clams nor would she like to know that I had a live lobster in the kitchen. I was ready to add my seafood into the paellera and put everything into the oven when Steph called out again.

"Ranger?"

"Yeah, Babe."

"I want you to hear what Joe has to say."

"I don't want to intrude on a private conversation..."

"Please. I need you to keep me honest. You'll hear the same words, only differently."

"Ok, let me put a timer on this and I'll be right in." _A timer? I must be getting soft._

I sat in the chair while Steph called Joe on speaker. I didn't want to be too close in case he started to piss me off.

"Joe? Its Steph. Mom and Mary Lou said you were trying to get in touch?"

"Cupcake! Hey, are you ok? Where are you?"

"I'm ok. I had to call Mooner to come and help me..."

"Mooner? Could he even remember where you lived?"

"Not funny Joe. When you left I wasn't even able to get to the bathroom on my own. I needed someone..."

"Surprised you didn't call Ranger. Sure he'd love to take you to the bathroom," Joe leered.

"Again, not funny. Ranger came over this morning to see if I was ok and got really pissed at the situation. He's taken me to Rangeman. What did you want anyway?" she added, the anger beginning to show itself in her voice.

"I'm still in the middle this gang war thing and became concerned when no one knew where you were."

She huffed and looked over to me before replying.

"It took you _3 whole days_ to become concerned? I've only been here for a few hours and you've called everyone I know but it took you 3 days to even think about me? Didn't you wonder if I was even able to get around on my own with a full cast on my leg and crutches that didn't fit?"

"I'm sorry, Cupcake. But you know how it is when work calls."

"I'm sure everyone at the precinct knew about my broken leg. You could have asked Barnes to cover for you. Hell, you cover for him all the time..."

"Listen Cupcake, now's not the time..."

"You're damn right about that, Joe," she said disconnecting, shutting off her phone and angrily throwing it into her purse.

It took her about 30 seconds to center herself enough to speak.

"Well that went well," she finally said before rolling her eyes and countering her earlier statement. "Not."

I wasn't sure what to say. I thought the cop was an ass and even when she called him on his shit he continued to be one. Steph seemed to be fairing ok but then again she seemed ok after I rescued her from a plunge into the Delaware last year.

"Are you still taking pain medication?" I asked her.

"No they make me nauseous. I only took them that first day. Why?"

"Would you like a glass of wine before dinner then?"

"Sure," she answered as if the whole conversation with Morelli never happened. She was in denial land.

I opened up a red for us and set the dining room table while I waited for the oven to signal that the paella was done.

"It smells really good in here," she told me as I handed her a glass of wine. "Where did you learn to cook and what other hidden talents do you have?"

She knew another of my _hidden_ talents, so I just raised an eye suggestively at her and toasted her with my wine glass. "Salud."

"Salud to you too, Ranger. And you never answered me."

"I used to make this with my Abuela Rosa when I was about 10. Don't think I've made it since but Ella assured me that I didn't leave out anything important." My phone buzzed at the same time the oven did. I answered as I walked into the kitchen to take out the paella. It needed to rest for a few minutes anyway.

The caller was Ella. "I made a chocolate cake for Steph," she told me. "I'm bringing a piece up. Would you like one, too?"

"Thank you but I'll pass. Let yourself in, we're in the living room."

Steph and I were relaxing on the couch with our wine when I heard my front door open and two minutes later close. I was pretty sure Steph heard neither and the dessert would be almost as much of a surprise to her as my paella.

My oven buzzed again, signaling that dinner was ready. I helped Steph up and I steadied her as she walked to the dining room. I settled her into a chair and then made quick work of bringing in dinner. I'd plated everything in the kitchen to maximize table space even though it was just the two of us. First I brought in the salad and set one down at either place setting. Then the bowls of paella. I watched Steph's eyes go wide as she noticed the chicken, shrimp and lobster that studded each plate.

"This looks so good. Is it ok if I take a taste?" she asked as I set myself down catty corner to her.

"That's what it's here for," I smiled at her as she dug in.

"Oh God Ranger, this is soooo good. I can't believe you made this. This may be the best thing I've _ever_ eaten."

"I think I can top it Babe." I was referring to my own favorite dessert—a little Plum pudding but used the innuendo in my favor as I brought in Ella's dessert. "You seem to have a fan downstairs and I believe this is the cake that my men refer to as Ella's Crack Cake. Understand it's quite addictive."

Steph was practically drooling as I went back into the kitchen to get her a fork.

"Oh God Ranger, I take it back. _This_ ," she said, using the fork to point to the cake in front of her, "may be the best thing I've ever eaten. Are you sure you don't want a taste? I know the whole body/temple thing but this is worth a little cheat."

And just to prove I was human after all, I lowered my head towards her plate and let her feed me a forkful.

"Holy shit, did you really just eat that?"

"I may have to put in another half hour on the treadmill but yes, it was very good."

"Want another bite?"

"I'm good, Babe. Enjoy the rest of it."

That probably earned me a few points on Steph's list of 'human or not'. It humored me that she really did keep tabs. I wasn't any kind of a super hero, just a regular man who cared about her more than I really should. And sooner or later I was going to have to figure out what to do about it.


	4. Chapter 4

**The Magic Kingdom**

Chapter 4

 _ **A Ranger POV**_

Steph was still smiling broadly as I helped her back into the living room after dinner. I was pretty sure it had more to do with the bite of chocolate cake that I had, than my making an elaborate dinner or even cleaning up after it. Yes, the dinner was uncharacteristic of me but a bite of dessert was something she could more readily relate to and it brought us one step closer to evening the playing field between us. I wonder what she'd do if I shared my philosophy on this 'us' with her?

Of course, I wasn't ready to go there yet. I needed to organize my thoughts and prepare a detailed plan first. If things went as anticipated I'd have about 3 months to build up to my finale. But then again, with Steph nothing ever went as planned.

We were back to the Food Network but thankfully Fieri had been replaced with some kind of cooking game show. Or at least that's what it looked like to me. I could understand the need for comfort after all she'd been through but there must be other forms of comfort that would work? I could think of a few off the top of my head but I didn't think she'd appreciate any more physical contact than being helped getting around right now. And I didn't think sex would be all that comfortable for her anyway, between the full leg cast and her Morelli epiphany. But I knew I could relax her another way, by holding her close and then running my lips across her neck. Although I doubt she realized it, it was something I did with her whenever I could. It relaxed me, too.

So, I sat on the couch next to her and waited for her to cuddle into me. About five minutes into this _Cook Or Con?_ show she leaned in. Of course I took full advantage of the situation and wrapped my arms around her. Oxytocins are powerful 'feel good' hormones and it takes very little body to body contact to activate them.

"Thank you, Ranger," she told me again. "I really appreciate that you're letting me stay here and giving me such good treatment. I'm sorry I didn't call you on Tuesday. I don't know what I was thinking."

"No price, Babe. And I mean it." I knew why she didn't call and it had more to do with self preservation than anything else. Steph is afraid that if she spends too much time in my presence that she'll get hurt. I think that may have been true a long time ago but I've made peace with the fact that I'm attracted to her and even after 3 years she holds a big piece of my heart. Probably all of it.

We both fell asleep on the couch, which is rare for me, and I awoke only because my arm was numb. It was numb because it was still around Steph and all her body weight was currently pressing down on it. I didn't want to wake her but I needed to get the circulation back. Gently I lifted her off of me, but I guessed not gently enough.

"Ranger?" she questioned sleepily.

"I think we should go to bed, Babe. It's almost midnight."

"Oh crap. I need to wash my face, brush my teeth and um...you know, first. Can you help me to the bathroom?"

I knew it took a lot for her to ask but instead of making her feel more uncomfortable, I helped her up and acted as her human crutch. I don't know why she was embarrassed by personal cleansing and bodily functions, we'd already shared just about everything. But knowing her reservations on such matters, I left her at the bathroom door. It probably would have been easier if I'd helped her get changed for sleep, but I respected her desire for privacy.

My bed is big and there is more than enough room for Steph, myself _and_ her cast. I couldn't help but smile as I helped her into the side of the bed that I know she considered _hers._ I also knew full well that sometime during the night she'd be on my side of the bed and all over me anyway. I just hoped she wouldn't inadvertently kick me with her casted leg. I was pretty sure it would hurt and might cause irreparable damage if she got me in the wrong place.

The night was uneventful and we both slept soundly. I was used to being interrupted by calls at all hours, but even my phone slept through the night. Could be because I took myself off the grid. Up at 5, I wrote a quick note to Steph asking her to not get out of bed on her own, that I'd be back in an hour, (although I doubted she'd even awaken) then went down to the gym.

Tank and Bobby were spotting for each other on one of the weight benches, so I got a treadmill up to speed. About twenty minutes in to my cardio the both of them came over.

"How's Bomber doing?" Bobby asked, taking the treadmill to my left.

"She had a good night. I'm surprised that after all she's been through there were no nightmares," I told him, not letting on that I'd been in her apartment after a few other traumatic experiences and watched her toss, turn and call out until my heart ached.

"You talk to her?" came from my right. I knew what Tank was referring to, he's been wanting me to man up since way before this ordeal.

"Not yet. I figure I have another couple of months."

"Ha. You think she's going to stick around for that long?" Bobby interjected. "She'll have a walking cast on in about 3 weeks and then I see her taking the rat and heading home."

Unfortunately, I did too. I knew my timeframe was a lot shorter than I cared to admit to, but that was my problem. I couldn't admit that I cared.

I took a quick shower in the gym so as not to disturb Steph, then headed upstairs. I was still thinking about what Bobby had stated so emphatically that I was taken aback to find Steph sitting up in my bed reading the note I'd left her. There was more than a trace of annoyance on her face, which surprised me. There were no double entendres or hidden messages in my note. I had simply asked her to not try to get out of bed until I got back.

"Babe, is everything ok?"

"Just what is it that you want from me, Ranger?"

This line of questioning caught me off guard. Obviously, she'd been doing some thinking.

"Like I've told you before, there's no price."

" _Everything_ has a price. I thought it was sex and I'm pretty sure that's still a part of it..." she responded bursting into tears. "I'm not a kept-woman kind of person."

I really hoped that wasn't the vibe I was sending out.

"I'd never..."

"Then what do you want?" she asked again, sniffling back a few tears. "And on what terms? Whose terms?" she added.

"No terms. I've cleared my schedule so I can be here for you while you mend."

Steph continued to glare at me.

"I mean that, Babe, no terms," I repeated, somehow finding more words to add to that. "I've tried keeping my distance from you. I thought that would be better for the both of us. But that didn't seem to work out too well. And I've tried sending you back to Morelli but I don't like the way he's treating you," I added, slowly making my way into the room.

"Can you say that again?"

I knew I wasn't clear. I wasn't expecting this line of questioning and I hadn't prepared any answers. I took a deep breath and started again.

"I know I've given you my bullshit, 'I'm not relationship material' spiel. And the truth is, I wasn't, I'm not...and I'm probably going to get this wrong on the first try, but I'd like to try. You've been used before to get to me and it makes me crazy that you may be again but that's a bullshit excuse for not trying to take what we obviously feel for each other to the next level. I guess I'm trying to tell you that I love you..."

I finally looked directly at Steph. Her mouth was open and the tears were starting to flow again.

"I'm sorry. Did I say something wrong?" I asked. "I told you I wasn't going to get this right on the first try..."

"Not wrong. But not what I expected. You love me? You'd like to try to have a relationship with me?"

"I've told you before that I loved you..."

"Yes...but you said _in your own way_ and I took that to mean that... I don't know what I took that to mean. That maybe I was one of many..."

"No, you are definitely one of a kind. The only one," I told her. I was fully in the room now and had made my way over to the bed. I hoped she wouldn't lash out at me but I had to make contact so I slowly took both of her hands in mine.

This certainly wasn't how I expected my confession to manifest itself and it certainly wasn't a romantic situation but I got into bed with Steph and we just held each other for probably half an hour. Her, trying to get her emotions under control. And me, my thoughts. This was so out of character for me. I wasn't sure what to do or to say to move things forward from here. I didn't think she was ready for the "M" word to make an appearance but that's where I fully intended to take this once we'd formalized things.

"Stay with me, Babe," I asked, although it was more of a statement. I wasn't going to let her back out.

"Ranger..."

"No, I mean it. I've told you before that I envisioned sharing my closet with you," I purposely left out the marriage part that I had also told her about, "let's make that a reality, move in with me."

"Well, I'm kind of here. Rex, too. Let's see how this goes over the next few weeks before we make that kind of a commitment. I'm not saying no, I just want to take it slow. I need some time to think about all of this."

I could give her that. After all, it's taken me years to get up the nerve to say what I've felt, pretty much right from the start. If she only needed weeks, I was good with that.

"I understand. Whatever you need, Babe."

That wasn't entirely true. If she needed more than a few weeks and demanded to go back to her rat-trap apartment once she was fitted with a walking cast, I'd have to come up with _something_ to keep her here. I already knew what that something was. And it had been in my safe for the last year. Getting her to accept it and say yes was another story.


	5. Chapter 5

Thank you all for the really great reviews. I'm so sorry that I haven't responded to each and every one of you individually but I had hand surgery on my right hand just before Christmas and typing is still difficult. Thank God for Dictation. You really have to check it though because it makes up words — but better than being in pain from using my hand too much. Forgive me please. I hope to be back to normal soon.

 **Chapter 5**

 _ **A continued Ranger POV**_

I was expecting Mt. Vesuvius once all the tears were out of the way and I was surprised when the emotional eruption didn't occur. I'd spent the day with her, inside my apartment, watching television (yes, we once again had on the Food Network). I needed to break this cycle for her own good, as well as mine. It was as if she were dependent on Guy to get her through her day. I thought about taking her to Newark to meet my parents since their house was always filled with positive karma and good food. But then I thought about it...I wasn't sure she'd want to meet my family if she weren't at her best. The only way to know for sure was to ask.

"Babe? Would you like to get out of the house?"

"I'm ok Ranger. Why, do you need to get out?"

Not the reaction I was was expecting.

"Just thought you might need a change of scenery. My mother invited us for dinner." Not exactly true but I had a standing invitation whenever I wanted. I just needed to let my mother know that Steph would be joining me.

"Uh...I can't meet your parents looking like this..."

"I think you look beautiful and I'm sure they'd understand you not feeling your best with your leg in a cast. We can take the Cayenne so you can stretch out and be comfortable. What do you think?"

"I'd rather not. I don't want to meet them when I'm not...like...fully functional."

"They won't care but if you don't want to go I can call my mother and tell her we'll come another time." A little guilt goes a long way with Steph but I'd _never_ force her to do anything.

"You know what, Ranger," she added, giving herself a minute to think. "I think it would be good for me to get out of my rut. If your parents are anything like you, they'll understand my disheveled looks..."

"Babe, you don't look disheveled. And I can help you put on one of those wide-legged pants that Ella picked up for you today. Aside from the crutches, no one will be the wiser."

"How much time do I have? I need to do my hair...and my makeup...and we'll need to feed Rex..."

"They don't normally eat till around seven, so you have about three hours. Is that enough time? I can always call and ask for dinner to be later..."

"No, seven is fine."

"Is there anything I can do to help you get ready?"

"Since Louis installed those temporary grab bars in your shower I was able to take one on my own this morning. Well, kind of. Just need to get my hair under control and put on some makeup. I'm good. I don't need help with anything."

"Well, if everything is ok with you here, I'm going to go down to see Hector for about fifteen minutes. He has an iPhone 7 that he's updated for you. Something about an app that tracks bone growth progress."

"I already have a phone. What am I going to do with another one?"

"Since we upgrade often as part of our business model, Rangeman gives all of our old phones back to Apple. They refurbish them and give them to charity."

"That's very kind. Can I add my phone to your pile? And will the new one have the same number?"

"Yes, your existing number will be programmed into the new phone. So, you'll be ok if I run down for about 15-20 minutes?" I added again, just to be on the safe side.

"Yes, I'm ok. If I need anything I can call Ella."

This was going far better than expected. A quick call to Newark and two additional places would be set at the Mañoso dining room table. My mother would be ecstatic, too. She's been wanting to meet Steph since Marty Sanchez told Celia about the 'mini me' he'd met. Not words I would have used to describe Steph but they sure peaked my mother's interest.

I left the apartment and headed down to Hector's cave on two. It was next to Bobby's infirmary and both were usually quiet this time of day. I could kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. Pick up the iPhone for Steph and call my mother.

Neither took very long but I'd given myself a window of twenty minutes so I stopped on 5 before heading up to the apartment. My office door was open and Tank was behind my desk making grunting noises at my computer.

"Can I help with anything?"

"I'm looking for the latest client contact list and according to the PDF I have, you were the last one to update it. I can't find anything on this goddamn computer. It's either password protected or given a numeric title. Why can't you save things like normal people?"

"I'm trying to keep the likes of you out. It's a word document. A .docx. 'D' is the 4th letter of the alphabet so the folder that it's in begins with a '4'."

"You're sick."

"So I've been told. But I'm still alive so I can't be that sick."

I had already commandeered the mouse away from him and proceeded to find the contact list. I printed it out and shut down.

"Did it ever occur to you that I might not want a print out?"

"No. But I'll forward the original to you and you can do what you want with it. I'm heading back upstairs. I'm taking Steph to dinner at my parents."

"She up for the whole Spanish Inquisition?"

"It's just my parents."

"Ha. As soon as one of your siblings find out, they'll _all_ be there. Husbands, wives, kids...they multiply like wire hangers. You remember when you first brought me to dinner?"

"Most of them were still living at home then. I picked today because Lauren has late classes so it'll just be Ricardo and Gloria. At least I hope so."

"Nothing is ever a sure bet when you have six kids in a family. I wish you luck. Call me if you need a rescue."

"Thanks man."

I still had five minutes so I headed to the control room. I knew Hal was monitoring the fleet tonight and wanted him to keep a live feed on the Porsche, too.

"Steph and I are heading to Newark," I told him, letting him know we'd be off-premises. "Can you keep the Cayenne on your radar?"

"Sure thing. I just pulled you up."

With everything on my short list taken care of, I felt better. I thanked Hal with a nod before turning to Raphael who was monitoring the building and our remote clients. "All good?" I asked.

"All good if you don't count the poker game going on at Santos'. Looks like everyone who is off duty tonight is there. Could get loud."

"Break it up if it gets out of control," I told him before leaving. I wasn't worried about a poker game; my men were adults. Well, most of the time.

I nodded a goodbye to both men before heading back up to seven. I knocked on my own door before entering. I didn't want to spook Steph.

"Is that you, Ranger?" she called out from somewhere in the bowels of my apartment.

"Is it ok to come in?"

"That's a strange question, it's your apartment."

"I didn't want to barge in on you if you weren't decent. Can I come back?" I asked again before heading towards the bedroom.

"All good. I just need a little help getting these pants on since I can't bend my knee."

I walked in to help her and noticed the red thong immediately. She must be feeling better if she was up to putting on sexy underwear.

"Pretty, Babe," I told her referring to the lacy thong and also her overall look.

"Thanks, Ranger. I think getting out is good for me. I kind of felt motivated to look my best."

"And you do. Are you almost ready? If we leave now we'll have a little time to talk before dinner."

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be," she responded with a sigh. Was I detecting her having second thoughts? Maybe missing Guy already?

"This is from Hector," I told her, handing her the iPhone 7 Plus that he personalized for her. Gifts can do a lot to improve one's sense of self, too. "He wanted you to know that it's water resistant so you don't have to worry if you spill anything on it."

"He's so good to me. All of you guys are. Thank you."

"This is solely from Hector. I had nothing to do with it."

"I'll call him from the car. Is this working? And does that mean my other phone is dead?"

"He said it's all set to go so I assume he's deactivated your old one."

She dug through her ever-present bag, found her old phone and turned it on. "Yep, dead," she mumbled, placing it on the night table and putting the new one into her bag.

"I'll bring it down to Hector tomorrow to add to our donation bin," I told her, helping her tonstand and handing her the crutches.

It really was hard for Steph to get around, so to respect her attempts to do it all on her own, I feigned gallantry, took a crutch from her and offered my arm. Together we made it to the elevator and down to the garage. Steph waved at the camera by the elevator as we passed it on our way to the Cayenne. It was something she did all the time but my men and I still found it endearing.

Thankfully traffic was relatively light on 95 and we made it to Newark in under an hour. I pulled into my parents' driveway for two reasons: number one, the amount of steps to their front door and number two, the driveway wasn't visible from their front door. I knew Steph would want to appear as graceful as possible and getting down from the Cayenne would be anything but with that full leg cast. I was tempted to pick her up and deposit her gently on the ground but I knew that would get me the daggers stare. Instead, as earlier, I offered my arm, gave her one crutch and held the other.

We made it down the walkway without incidence and before I could ring the bell my dad opened it from inside. He had a huge smile on his face as he ushered us inside. After a full body hug to me, he offered his hand to Steph.

"I'm Ricardo, Carlos' dad."

"Stephanie," she said, extending the hand unencumbered by the crutch. "Carlos...um...what am I?"

I was going to say lover but that wouldn't sit well with my family. Instead, I conjured up a phrase more sophisticated than girlfriend, which sounded 7th grade to me. "Mi amor," 'my love' I told him.

"His amor," she repeated with a big smile.

"Well I hope that sentiment goes both ways, come in."

My mother appeared behind us. After wiping her hands on her apron, she extended one to Steph, too. "And I'm Gloria, Carlos' mother."

"Steph, his _amor_ ," she said, grinning before rolling her eyes.

"Come in. Come in," my mother told her, smiling broadly and helping her negotiate the raised saddle between the foyer and the living room.

"Thank you," Steph smiled genuinely in return. I relaxed a little because it looked like Stephanie had.

"Where do you think you're going?" my mother said to me as I took over and helped Steph inside. "Since when do you think you can get away without greeting your mother hello?"

"Would never try," I mumbled, pulling her in for a hug and a kiss to each cheek as we did in my family.

When I looked up, Steph was grinning from ear to ear. I had a feeling she thoroughly enjoyed my mother's verbal smack to my head.

"Now I know where you get that thousand watter," Steph told me, looking to my father and then back to me after we had made ourselves comfortable on the couch. My mom and dad had taken the chairs that paralleled us so she was looking directly at my father. I was waiting for additional comparisons since even though my dad had more angular features than I did, we had a similar look.

"Yep, same thousand watter and same suave looks. I hope you don't go to the mall together, you could get mauled," she told us and then laughed at her joke.

I could tell that my parents' loved her already.


	6. Chapter 6

Thank you for all the great reviews. Maybe by my next posting I'll be able to email you all back individually. Until then a great big communal thank you to everyone.

 **Chapter 6**

 _ **Ranger...again**_

Contrary to common thought, just because we come from Cuban ancestry doesn't mean we eat Cuban food every night. Although, I have sneaking suspicions that my mother shakes a little Adobo on everything. But tonight she had made a Cuban roast pork. It's one of those meals that require a lot of forethought since it needs to marinate for about 24 hours, so I was sure this wasn't a quick decision on her part when she learned I was bringing Stephanie over.

"It smells so _good_ in here," Steph told my mother. "God, I feel like I died and went to heaven."

"Thank you. Ricardo has been asking for this for the last few weeks so I decided to surprise him. It's Cuban roast pork. Lechón Asado, as we call it. I'm glad you and Carlos could come tonight. We probably won't make this again until Easter."

My mother could wing it as well as anyone. She wasn't going to let on that I had only called her a little over an hour ago to invite myself and Steph for dinner.

"Well, I'm so glad you invited us. Did Carlos tell you that he made me paella last night? I could really get used to all these great smells."

My mother turned her attention to me with that last statement. "Abuela's recipe?"

"Sí," I answered automatically. If my mother had called my abuela 'grandma', I would have answered in English. "Although I wasn't quite sure of the proportions so I had Ella confirm that I was at least on the right page. I haven't made or even thought about making paella since I was...maybe ten."

"I think Stephanie is bringing out some of your better qualities. Too bad she had to be injured for you to cook for her or bring here here to meet us." She then turned to Steph. "He really used to love helping his grandmother cook. Maybe you can get him to make flan one night."

"You know how to make flan?"

This was becoming uncomfortable. Maybe coming here wasn't such a good idea after all.

"Among other things," I grumbled at them ready to shut this conversation down. Good thing my father picked up on my mood and changed the subject.

"Would anyone like some wine before dinner?" he asked, picking up one of the two bottles I brought from home. "My son seems to have found an aged Spanish Rioja and a newer vintage Chilean Cabernet. My bet is on the Rioja. Anyone?"

"I've had it before," I told the room. "It's excellent. Tastes slightly of dried figs. Steph, I'm pretty sure you've had this at my apartment and liked it," I said both to stop the face she was currently making...probably from the dried figs reference...and also to let my parents' know that my relationship with Steph has been going on for a while. Years, actually.

"Figs, Carlos?" she once again called me by my given name. It sounded good coming from her lips. I wasn't going to stop it if she continued to call me by it. Even after we left here.

"It's on the sweet side, Steph. It's a wine terminology."

"Um. Ok. You said I've had it before?"

I knew exactly when. It was a night when I was trying to seduce her. The night we almost were blown to bits and the bonds office burned to the ground.

"When Vinnie's place burned down," I said to jar her memory, which I was sure at the time hadn't been focused on the wine she'd been drinking.

"Oh, yeah," she responded. I could tell she was trying hard to remember that night but coming up blank other than that destructive fire.

"Bluttovich," she mumbled under her breath. I nodded.

My dad opened the bottle and got some wine glasses. All of a sudden the locks turned on the front door. In bounded my youngest sister Lauren, who still lived at home.

"My last class was cancelled," she yelled out before stopping in her tracks when she realized my parents were not alone.

"Carlos," she said taking in myself, Steph and Steph's pretty obvious cast. "What are you doing here?"

"Mom invited us for dinner. Lauren, this is Stephanie. Steph, my sister Lauren."

"Don't get up," Lauren told Steph, coming over to shake her hand amid mumbled 'nice to meet you's.

"Dinner is almost ready," my mother told her. "Papa can pour you a glass of wine. Why don't you put your things down, take off your jacket and join us."

"Sure. Is anyone else coming?"

"No. This was a last minute invite."

"Want me to call Celia? I think Rob is at the hospital tonight and she's by herself with the kids."

"I don't want to overwhelm Steph," I told everyone before this became a free-for-all. My sister Celia had twin boys.

"Just thought Celia would like to meet Steph since Marty made a big deal about the _mini me_ he'd met."

"Lauren," I said using the tone I usually reserve for my men when they were out of line.

"Gotcha, boss."

My sister behaved after that.

She was currently in her last year at Rutgers Newark going for a double major in finance and accounting. She was also Rangeman's part-time bookkeeper, primarily taking care of payroll. On the rare occasion that she came into the office, she shared a double cubicle with Brett. I heard that they became close. Maybe, too close. Not my business but Santos seemed obsessed by their attraction to one another and had kept me in the loop. I was going to ask if she'd seen him lately, mainly to promote dinner conversation, since I see him everyday, but my mother flashed me a look that said _back off on the interrogations_. I'd have to ask Santos what was going on.

"So Brett tells me that Steph is staying with you while her leg heals," Lauren mentioned after a few bites of food.

Obviously they still spoke.

"Yes, she is. Temporarily. While she's in that full leg cast it's hard for her to get around. I'm hoping to convince her to change that status to full time, though," I told my family, while I smiled at Steph and took her hand under the table. Better they learned about this from me than through the grapevine.

"Is that so?" My mother was all ears.

"Yes, I asked her to move in with me. We're negotiating." I smiled at Steph again and moved my finger over hand. Over her finger that presently showed no sign of commitment. I hoped to change that, too.

"How's school?" I asked. It wasn't an interrogation.

"It's fine. Tank offered me a full time job once I graduate. I told him I needed to think about it. It's one thing to work for you to gain experience. It's another to feel I'm being given a position just because I'm your sister. I want to see if I get some other offers and weigh salary and growth potential before I decide. Tank understands."

I knew we were going to make her an offer. I didn't know about this complicated negotiations process. I guess I just figured out what my mother's earlier look meant. And no, I don't like it but I will back off.

"Smart," Steph spoke up. "I took the first job and marriage proposal I was offered and was laid off and divorced not too long after. Pays to do your homework."

"You were married before?" Lauren asked.

"I really don't want to talk about it. It was nasty."

"Couldn't have been any nastier than Carlos'..." Lauren pushed.

"Lauren," my mother confronted her. My sister had a bad habit of prying into other people's business.

"It's ok, mama. There are no secrets between Steph and I, aside from the classified stuff I can't talk about. And if you remember, it was Steph that saved Julie during her abduction..."

"Not really," Steph interrupted. "It was Julie who ended up saving the three of us. And that was the scariest day of my life."

"As a bounty hunter I'm sure you've had some pretty scary encounters," Lauren suggested.

"Nothing can compare to Carlos being shot in front of my eyes. And I was helpless to do anything. _Julie_ was the real hero."

"Speaking of Julie," my mother interrupted. "She called me yesterday to say hello. Do you speak with her?"

"We talk to each other about once a month, sometimes more. She's displayed interest in coming up to New Jersey for a visit. I think that would be a hard sell for Rachel, but we'll see."

"She mentioned that to me, too. I told her that she can stay here with us...if Rachel will agree. We have all these empty rooms with only Lauren home. And it would be great to spend some time with her in a _normal_ setting."

"I'll talk to Rachel. Maybe we can work something out. After all, I am her biological father and you are her grandparents."

"You gave up your rights and let Ron adopt her. I'm not too sure you can play the parent card," Lauren butted in.

"I have a good relationship with both Ron and Rachel. I'm sure we can come to an agreement as long as there's a clear cut plan to put down on the table in front of them. Julie staying here would solve the 'where' problem. I can fly down to pick her up for the 'how'. We just need a 'when'."

"What about Easter week, spring break, whatever they call it?" Steph queried. "Aren't schools closed?"

"They are." Lauren said, looking a little too happy to jump into my personal life. "And that's just about a month away. I would think you'd be able to pull it off."

"And I should be out of this cast by then and hopefully into something a little more user friendly. We can take her sightseeing."

"In Newark?" my pain in the ass sister butted in again.

"No. Well maybe that, too. I was thinking Manhattan. It's only fifteen minutes away from here. We could take her to the Empire State Building and to Katz' Deli. You know, tourist stuff."

Shoot me now.


	7. Chapter 7

_A really big thank you to everyone who has been reading and reviewing my story. I am so sorry that I haven't been able to thank you all personally. Real life has really been throwing me the old one-two punches. Work should calm down a little after next week and I hope to be able to write more frequently and PM everyone. Thank you so much again. This chapter is once again from Ranger's point of view and is certainly not what anyone would ever expect from him_

 **Chapter 7**

 _ **A Ranger POV again**_

The weeks passed quickly. And much to my surprise _and disappointment_ , Steph was getting better and better at getting around. I had gotten used to her relying on me for physical, as well as emotional, support and it felt unsettling for her to not need me as much. And I was likely to feel worse, as today was the day of reckoning. We had a doctor's appointment this afternoon where she would probably have the old cast removed and a walking one put on in its place. I needed to get my emotions in check. My biggest fear was that once she was fully mobile she'd want to separate from me and go back to her rat trap apartment with the rodent.

My current line of thinking didn't come without warrant. I'd noticed her canvassing our closet, taking things off hangers and putting them into large plastic bags that could easily be dropped into her duffle when the time came. I was waiting for the right moment to ask her about this. I had already made arrangements for us to go out to dinner tonight to celebrate her cast's demise. She wouldn't exactly be up for dancing...but putting on a dress and makeup would certainly brighten her spirits and I intended to show her all she would miss if she went back home now. And if the truth be known, I was quite surprised she hadn't given up the apartment when she agreed to move in with me.

I also knew she'd made peace with the cop...and that they'd been talking. I didn't think it was anything more than friendly, since she's known him her whole life, but she's surprised me before. So, obviously at this moment, my heart wasn't feeling too sure of itself. What did one do to prove they loved you more than anything in the world?

It was time to get the ring out of my safe, dust it off and take it for a serious test drive.

We'd also made plans for Julie to come up and spend her Easter break with us. And I truly hoped it would be with _us_ , as Steph _had_ seemed as excited to see her as I did.

"Babe, are you almost ready? We have a half an hour before your appointment," I called out to her from my study.

"Um. Maybe we should cancel. My stomach is in knots. I'm not sure I can do this now."

What the fuck? She's been anticipating this day for weeks.

"If you're nervous that the break isn't healed enough for your cast to be downgraded, I know for certain that it is. Bobby showed me the X-rays."

"It's not that, Ranger."

"It won't hurt if that's what you're worried about. The saw won't penetrate anywhere near your skin."

"I know, I had a cast on my arm when I broke it trying to fly."

"Then what is it, Babe?" I asked, coming over and wrapping my arms around her.

It was then the tears started.

"Steph? What's the matter?"

"It's nothing," she told me trying to get herself under control.

Nothing doesn't come out like a faucet. "You can talk to me," I told her gently, using my thumbs to wipe her tears.

"I'm ok now. Let's get going before I change my mind again."

Something was up. And I was pretty sure it had to do with the two of us. She undoubtedly wanted a safety net before trying to fly again and I couldn't blame her. Well, she'd get that safety net...and more...if I had my way. But I knew with Steph small steps were better than big ones.

We took the Cayenne to her doctor's office but tonight I intended to take her out in the turbo. Her leg wouldn't need the extra room of an SUV and I knew how sexy she found that car. The 600 horses right behind her seat would jumpstart anything else I had planned.

"Stephanie Plum?" the receptionist called a few minutes after we arrived. "Dr. Grieg says your X-rays look good and we're going to remove this cast and give you a walking one. Follow me please."

She got up...and I got up. No way was I letting her go through this alone.

We were ushered directly into a room devoid of much but a small power saw attached to a canister vacuum and a number of chairs. Steph took one, I took another and we waited. It was going on ten minutes when a physician's assistant came in and picked up the saw.

"I'm Patrick," he stated, a little too brightly. "And today's your lucky day. Are you ready for this?"

"I've been ready for this for the last 6 weeks," Steph told him right before he started sawing.

She grabbed my hand, more from the noise of the saw than anything else, and held it tight. With her left hand in mine, I suddenly had an idea. Using the appendage not attached to Steph, I dug into one of the pockets of my cargos and found what I was looking for. The ring box. I opened it one-handed, took out the ring and slipped it on to Steph's finger when she let out a small yelp. The saw had cut through the material and divided the cast into two still attached halves.

"Oh my God. Look at my shriveled, hairy leg," she yelled, taking a good look. "I mean, _don't look_. You're not supposed to see me like this."

"You always look beautiful to me," I told her honestly.

She pulled her hand away from me to touch her leg. I was watching her intently, ready for the scream when she noticed the diamond on her finger. I was pretty sure I saw her eyes dart right to it, but she remained quiet. Too quiet.

"Babe?" I asked her once we were alone again. "Are you ok?"

"Did you really think I wouldn't notice? And were you even going to _ask_ me?"

"I was planning to ask you tonight. But this seemed like a good opportunity. You were uncomfortable and I wanted to show you that I'd always be there for you. As you know, actions can speak louder than words." No response so I continued.

"You are the most important person in my life and I love you more than anything. Will you marry me?"

The tears started anew. "I thought you were getting tired of me. You were staying out of the apartment longer and longer..."

"You were doing so well on your own, I was giving you a chance to be independent again..."

"Oh."

The rest of the conversation would have to wait as Dr. Greig took the opportunity to walk in on us. Of course, it was his office and we were there to see him, but that didn't make the moment any less awkward, so I glared at him hoping to make this visit as short as humanly possible.

"How are you doing, Stephanie?" he asked, shaking my hand and then hers.

"I'm...ok...a little shocked. I seem to have...uh...just gotten...engaged."

"Here?"

She slowly shook her head at him. "Yes, here. A few seconds ago."

"Congratulations to the both of you. I'd love to tell you that you're free to go dancing to celebrate but I'm afraid that I'm going to have to give you a new cast for about another six weeks. But let's see if we can strike a deal. I can give you a removable boot that you'll be able to take off to shower. But when you do, I don't want you putting any more than 25% of your body weight on that leg. Or, I can cast it again. Your decision."

"I'll take the removable thing."

"You're marrying a smart lady here," he said to me, smiling at Steph.

"I know. But I wish she'd say 'yes'."

He looked at me for a second before returning his attention to Steph. "You haven't answered him yet?"

She slowly shook her head no. It was becoming a pattern.

"Well, why don't I leave you two alone for a while I get your boot and set it up." He looked back and forth from me to Steph again. "No hanky-panky."

I didn't think that would be a problem. Other than a vordo-induced incident in the turbo, Steph is pretty conservative in the public _hanky-panky_ department.

"Babe?" I asked her as soon as the doctor left the room. I had taken her hand during the discussion with the doctor and I was currently running my finger over what I hoped to be her engagement ring.

"So you had the ring with you because you were going to ask me tonight?" she deduced.

"That had been my original plan. It got waylaid though when I saw you so uncomfortable. Please say yes, Babe."

"Ranger..."

"Carlos."

"Carlos. I don't know what to say. I was beginning to collect my stuff. I thought I was overstaying my welcome..."

"Never. And the next time you feel this way, talk to me. You usually have such a good sense about things."

"Yeah, other people's things. Can I have a few hours? Tell you tonight?" she asked pausing to take off the ring and give it back to me.

I didn't want to see it off her finger. Ever. So I stopped the process midway.

"Keep it on, Babe. It will help you to think." My phone buzzed in my pocket at that moment, having no regard for timing. I had taken myself offline, so this had to be important. I took it out and looked at the display. Tank.

"I need to take this. I'll be right back. Please keep the ring."

I passed the doctor in the hall as I was heading outside, Tank's voice in my ear.

"So did she say yes?" the doctor asked.

"Not yet, she needs to think."

"Well, I hope she's not thinking about that detective who brought her to the emergency room when I was on call. He seemed like a complete jerk, bossing everyone around."

"I don't know. But I need to take this call. Can we pick this up later?"

"Sorry, Tank," I continued. Apologizing was not something I usually did. "What's up?"

"You have an unexpected visitor here at Rangeman. Bonnie Menendes."

"My _cousin_ Bonnie? What does she want?"

"I didn't pry...but I figured it was important. When was the last time you even saw her?"

"At my aunt and uncle's 40th. She keeps as low a family profile as I do. Can you put her on the line?"

"Hold on."

After a few second pause, my phone came alive again. "Carlos?"

"Bonnie. What's up?"

"Are you coming back? I kind of wanted to talk to you."

"I've taken myself offline for the rest of the night but if it's important we can meet."

"It's about my mom. Tia Marta. She was just diagnosed with breast cancer. I was wondering if you knew anyone at Sloan Kettering?"

"Do you know what stage?"

"I don't. My dad couldn't remember what their doctor told them. And my mother thinks she's been given a death sentence. She's hysterical."

"Where is she?"

"They're home. I was on my way there, saw the exit for Trenton, thought of you and got off the parkway. Sorry, I'm not thinking straight."

"I do have some connections. I need to make a few calls though. Continue on to your parents' house and I'll call you later. Don't worry. We'll get the best help there is. Can you put Tank back on?"

"Thank you. I owe you."

"De nada. Just take care of yourself. Tia Marta doesn't need to see you so upset. Does _my_ mother know yet?"

"I don't think so. My dad wasn't doing too well after the diagnosis. I doubt he called anyone but me."

"I'll call her. Put Tank on."

Just what I didn't need. A family emergency when I was having one of my own.

I walked back into the doctor's office. Steph and Dr. Greig were in the middle of a conversation.

"Look at him and then look at me," she was saying. "He's Dionysus and I'm...I don't know...a frog."

"Gotta go," I said to Tank, then hung up. _My_ emergency seemed to be spiraling out of control.


	8. Chapter 8

A little further insight into Ranger's though-processes. And a big thank you to all of you who read and reviewed Chapter 7. Your reviews propel me forward! And speaking of propelling, I know this story isn't getting down on virtual paper as fast as I would like it to, but at least we are making progress. I'm in the middle of a TV commercial, a brand re-launch and a global initiative right now at work—so I am totally crazed. Hope to spend more time with my stories soon, though. Thank you for your patience.

 **Chapter 8**

 _ **Another Ranger POV**_

"Babe?"

"Ranger! You weren't supposed to hear that..."

"But I did. And I don't ever want you doubting yourself again. Doctor, can we have a minute?"

"Of course. I'll be in my office, knock when you're done."

"Stephanie," I told her, walking over and taking her hand. "You do know that you are the most stunning, precious and _sexiest_ woman I have ever met. I don't know what you see when you look in a mirror, but you are _beautiful_ inside and out. People in your life have clearly done a number on you and that makes me angry. What do I have to do to convince you otherwise? I've already asked you to be my wife," I reminded her, rubbing my thumb over the ring on her finger.

"Ranger..."

"Carlos."

"Carlos. I can see things pretty clearly. I don't need glasses and what I see when I look at myself is a mass of out of control curls and a disaster waiting to happen. I blow up cars at an alarming rate. Why would you want to attach yourself to me?"

"Because I love you. And I see a beautiful, tenacious woman who will stop at nothing to get her man. It's admirable. And as I've told you before, cars are replaceable but you aren't. Marry me, Babe."

"Why the rush?"

"Because I want you and I want the world to know that you're my woman."

"I think they already do. You seemed to have spread the word on Stark Street a long time ago."

"That's the underbelly of Trenton. You needed the protection my name would offer you there. I knew I couldn't keep you away, nor would I want to, so I did the next best thing. Not too many people would be brave enough to disrespect you knowing I'd be coming for them. But that has nothing to do with now. Marry me, Stephanie."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Um...ok."

"Just ok, Babe?"

"No, more than ok. Yes, Carlos. I love you and want to marry you."

"You just made me one happy man," I told her, the smile on my face growing by the second. Only Stephanie could answer a marriage proposal with 'ok'.

"I'm going to get the doctor. The faster we get out of here, the faster I can show you how happy you made me," I told her after giving her a kiss designed to make her dizzy.

"Give me a sec. I've got to get myself under control."

"A _sec_ is up. I'm going next door. We'll be right back."

I knocked on the doctor's door, even though it was open.

"Dr. Greig. Thank you for the moment. We're good now, can you finish up with her leg so we can get home?"

"She said yes?"

"She said yes." I wasn't going to get into semantics.

"Congratulations," he told me, getting up to shake my hand.

We had two hours before we needed to leave for Princeton, where I had made reservations at a Mediterranean place I knew to be quiet and _intimate_. I wanted Steph to have a memorable engagement dinner or I would have simply canceled...to spend the time naked in bed. I knew we'd get to the naked part anyway, so a slight detour wasn't really too disturbing. In fact, I saw us prone and sweaty about twenty minutes from now. We'd just have to set a time limit, but later on tonight, all bets were off.

In the car on the way back to Rangeman I told her about my Aunt Marta's diagnosis.

"She's my mother's sister so I need to make a couple of calls. The first, obviously, to my mother. I also have connections at Walter Reed with connections to Sloane Kettering. Three calls max and then I'm all yours."

"You seem to be all mine anyway," she told me flashing her ring in my face.

"Not yet. But we can make that happen as soon as you're ready," I told her as anxiety began to harden her features. "Take as long as you need, Babe. There's no rush. I'm not going anywhere," I added to dispel her budding panic attack. "And breathe."

This was going to be a long journey.

I called my mother from the car and relayed my conversation with Bonnie. Now was not the time to tell her that Steph had agreed to marry me. That could wait until we had a proper diagnosis on my aunt.

"I'm glad you called. Although this is not the best news," she told be after hearing what I had to say. "Is Stephanie with you?"

"Yes she is. We just had her cast removed. Would you like to say hi?"

"Please."

"My mom, Babe," I told her although my phone was on speaker.

"Mrs. Manoso?"

"Gloria. I thought we settled that the other night."

"Sorry, Gloria. You wanted to talk to me?"

"I just wanted to say hello. Carlos got some bad news and I wanted to make sure you were there with him. He pretends that nothing effects him but I know differently."

Steph looked over at me. A smile beginning to form. "Yeah. I know that too."

"Well that's all. Just wanted to say hi. Am I on speaker?"

"Yes you are," she told my mother, smiling broadly now.

"Ok. Since I've got the both of you at once, I'm giving you an open invitation to come here for dinner. Any night, just call first to make sure Ricardo and I haven't gone out. Ok? And we are _all_ on for Easter dinner. Julie will be here. I can call my other sisters, Carlos. No need for you to break the news."

"Thanks mom."

"I'll see you before Easter?"

"We'll call you. Send my regards." It was the _all_ in her prior sentence that had me worried. In my family _all_ was close to sixty people.

"Ok, bye now. Bye, Steph."

"Bye, Gloria," she said to a dead line.

"Jeez, now I know where you get it from."

"Get what, Babe?"

"The bad phone manners. Your mother just hung up on you."

"She did not. She said goodbye. When I hang up on someone, there's no goodbye. There are usually no further hellos either."

"You hang up on Tank all the time."

"We have an understanding. We don't need words, Babe."

"Jeez, Louise," she mumbled under her breath. "And 'yo' isn't hello," she added.

"Since I usually answer with 'report', in my book it is," I told her truthfully, feeling my smile form. The 'yos' were reserved for people I liked.

I called my connection at Walter Reed. He's the head of the Robotic Prosthetics Department (think Bionic Man), but he knows everyone.

"Ranger. To what do I owe this honor?" he asked when I got through all the guard dogs to finally speak to him.

"Favor..."

"Anything."

"An introduction to the best oncologist for breast cancer at Sloan Kettering, New York."

"That would be Dr. Norton. Hold on while I call him from my cell. I'm assuming this is for someone in your family?"

"My aunt. Marta Menendes."

"Hold on."

He was back on the line a few minutes later.

"Here's his number," he told me rattling off a bunch of numbers I hoped Steph or Siri caught.

"I take it you're driving. Do you need that again?"

I looked over at Steph who had written it down on a tissue. "Dr Norton's phone number, Siri."

Her voice came back with a series of numbers, which thankfully she didn't call for me. Steph confirmed the number with a nod.

"Nope. We're good."

"Next time you're in DC, stop by. It's been a long time. Do you know how Gutierrez is doing with his arm? Is he still active?"

"To my knowledge, yes. I haven't seen him in a while but I would have heard otherwise. Your arm made him feel human again. Brilliant piece of robotics."

"Thank you. And I hope to see you soon."

I'm sure Steph was cringing since neither one of us said goodbye as the call dropped off.

We pulled into the Rangeman garage. "Gutierrez? Robotic arm?" she asked looking at me sideways.

"He was under my command when he met with a booby trap that decimated his right arm. Last year he was the first recipient of a LUKE arm. I believe it's a nod to Luke Skywalker's cybernetic appendage, capable of doing almost anything a human arm can do. Very dexterous. There are future plans to tie it into the human nervous system. Right now it's battery powered."

"How do you know all this?"

"I keep up. I recommended Gutierrez for the arm when I read about it coming to Walter Reed. Dr. Sanchez, who we just spoke with, was more than happy to have a willing recipient. Not too many people want to be guinea pigs."

"Yeah. I would guess not. How come he doesn't work at Rangeman?"

"Gutierrez? He's still in the military."

"One-armed?

"He has two now. And I heard he's volunteered for active duty again."

"I guess that's pretty cool. Although, I don't know if I would take my chances after just being given another lease on life."

"He's a very determined man...like some _woman_ I know," I told her glancing at her with a raised eyebrow.

We were still sitting in the Cayenne which was not where I wanted to be at the moment. I wanted my woman in my arms...and my dick had _additional_ thoughts. We hadn't had _actual_ sex these last few weeks while she was casted to mid thigh and I was definitely feeling the ramifications. Dios, I wanted her.

"Let's go upstairs, Babe. Everything else can wait."

"Yeah, I guess it can," she told me, her eyes undressing me while she licked her lips.

I scrambled the camera in the elevator as we entered. I wasn't eager to have my men watch my amorous affections towards my woman. Once that was taken care of I backed her into a corner and proceeded to kiss her. When the elevator dinged its arrival on seven, Steph was wrapped around my waist, breathing hard.

"Babe, were here," I told her softly.

"Where?" she muttered back. I always loved watching her responses when our lips met. She got so completely involved in the connection that regular thought processes failed her.

"Let's go inside."

"Inside?" she asked, seemingly unaware of anything around her.

"Our home, Babe," I told her to reset her parameters.

"Ranger?"

"Unless you want to live elsewhere? As husband and wife we should live in the same place."

She was still acting bewildered. If I could attribute this perplexed state to a kiss, I really would be a superhero. Instead, I believed it to be an effect of the animal magnetism that exists between us. I've felt it from day one and Steph has unknowingly mentioned the neck tingles she gets when I'm around. My neck doesn't tingle but my dick does. And it was tingling now.

"Let's go inside," I told her again, taking her hand and leading her through the front door.

"It's been a long time," I whispered into her ear as I brushed her neck with my lips.

"Oh God, Carlos," she moaned. A response that let me know she was onboard with my thinking, whether or not she was able to express anything more at the moment.

And truthfully, no further words were needed.


	9. Chapter 9

_Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews. I'm so sorry it's taking me so long to write this story but I fully intend to finish it. I'm sure you know how disruptive real life can be. Slight smut alert._

Chapter 9

"I want to make love to you," I whispered to her, almost inaudibly, slowly backing her against the wall of our foyer and kissing her again.

"Oh God, Carlos," she moaned back. My words striking a chord with her.

I took that as an ok, picked her up and carried her into our bedroom.

When I couldn't get to areas I wanted to caress further, I sensuously stripped us both, being extra cautious with her right leg. According to Bobby it should be healed enough at this point for us to engage in sex, as long as I didn't put my full weight on it. Steph likes to drive anyway but we wouldn't be getting to that point until I knew she was completely satisfied.

I paid extra attention to her breasts, having learned that they create very powerful sensations in her. Once I had her moaning and pulling my head towards where she wanted it to be, I moved my mouth down her body, inch by glorious inch. I wish she could accept how truly beautiful she was. All that creamy white skin punctuated with dark curls and the full body flush she got when lavished with attention. Her face was beautiful too, and her eyes...so striking. I knew she hated her hair, but I loved it. It expressed her personality to a 'T'.

"My beautiful woman," I whispered into her ear as I gently took some skin from her neck into my mouth and let her ride out her first orgasm.

"Oh God, Carlos," she moaned for the third time in a matter of minutes.

"I'm not done with you yet," I told her, fully meaning it too.

Once I knew she had her breathing under control, I resumed my oral exploratory. After licking, and open mouth kissing my way up from behind her knee to her inner thigh, I could tell that her body was buzzing in anticipation, again. I poised myself at her very wet opening and gently entered her, taking care to keep my weight on my arms. Steph was having none of this gentle approach so using my ass and her vaginal muscles for leverage she pulled me fully inside.

"Babe, your leg," I whispered.

"Screw the leg; I haven't had _this_ in a long time." "Oh God Carlos. _Sooo_ good. More...deeper. Harder."

My woman was insatiable.

I awoke with a start and glanced at the time on my phone. Shit. We had 40 minutes to our dinner reservation which was at least 15 minutes away in Princeton.

"Babe, how quickly can you get ready?" I whispered, hoping to waken her without trauma.

"I...I need a shower..." she responded, taking in her surroundings slowly as she pushed away the veil of sleep.

"What about a little...spot cleaning?" I teased.

"Ranger! That's so gross."

"It's a Friday night. I doubt we'll be able to change the reservation and I know you want to fix your hair and put on some makeup. I was just suggesting..."

"...that I take a short cut. Jeez. You men are all alike."

"I can help you?" I told her suggestively.

"And then we'll _really_ be late. No. Give me five for a shower and fifteen for hair and makeup. I used to do it in less when I was in school."

I helped her up and over to the bathroom since we had her boot off and without it she was supposed to limit the weight she put on her leg.

She really didn't need my help since Louis had installed temporary grab bars but I stayed close, just in case. Once I heard the water turn off though, I knew for certain I wasn't needed. Bummer.

I helped her out and into a waiting towel. I know she loves to moisturizer after a shower so I handed the bottle to her along with her boot. Once I knew she was ok to be on her own I ran under the water for a quick one, too. I was getting dressed when my phone rang. Looking at the display, I realized it was my cousin Bonnie. I noticed Steph watching me through the mirror that she was using to put on makeup. She probably thought I was about to have a Rangeman emergency and was going to abandon ship.

"It's Bonnie, Babe. I hope this has nothing to do with my Aunt Marta."

"Answer it."

"Bon. What's up?"

"I just wanted to let you know that my mother has an appointment with Dr. Norton Monday morning. You know, that doctor you recommended at Sloan Kettering? Thank you."

"I'm glad he was able to see her so quickly. Are you going too? Not that I don't trust Tio Felipe to remember details but...I guess I just don't trust him."

"I don't either. That's why I took the day off from work so I could take mom. We're dropping dad off with Uncle Juan for a few hours. It's better that way. He worries too much and he's made some inappropriate comments to the doctors. I'm worried about him, too."

So was I. It sounded like early-onset Alzheimer's. Bonnie was going to have her hands full.

"Glad you're able to be there for her. Let me know how it turns out. I was just on my way out the door so I can't have a long conversation."

"I understand. Just wanted to let you know. Thank you. I owe you."

"De nada, Bon. Talk to you soon."

I turned my attention back to Steph as I shut down my phone. "They have an appointment at Sloan Kettering on Monday. Are you almost ready?"

"Just need to put my dress on. I haven't worn one in weeks, this is exciting. I was able to shave and everything."

"TMI but I'm glad you got rid of that rabbit growing on your leg," I laughed.

"Carlos, that's not nice."

"Maybe not, but it's true. I prefer my woman smooth."

Suddenly a pair of sweat pants flew past my head. I guess I shouldn't tease her so much.

Steph came out of the closet in that swirly red dress that does things to me. It was low-cut and tight to the waist, pillowing out from there. It reminded me of Marilyn Monroe's famous dress. Hoped my woman wasn't going to walk over any air vents though. What was underneath was mine and mine alone. As I gave her a full body scan, I had to chuckle. On one foot was a sandal with just the slightest hint of a wedge and on the other...her orthopedic boot. Very fashion forward.

The air was still chilly so I grabbed a sport jacket for me and a Pashmina for Steph, keys in my hand. I kissed her in our foyer and told her how fantastic she looked. Didn't need my men gawking if it got on tape. I locked up and we took the elevator down to the 911. I was going to propose the right way this time and needed to properly set the stage.

We were only a few minutes late getting to the restaurant. I took Steph's hand as we walked from the parking lot when an idea hit me. I was already making small circles on her palm and used the distraction to casually slip her ring off. Obviously one can't propose without one. I only had to hope she wouldn't notice and get freaked out. If so, I'd have to blow my cover; not the worst thing that could happen.

I used my considerable skills and a glass of wine to distract her further while she read the menu. When the waiter came back Steph ordered the stuffed pork chops with fettuccini and I a pan-roasted chicken breast and a salad. I was sure she was rolling her eyes internally. She doesn't understand how someone could intentionally pass on a high fat, high carbohydrate meal.

When the waiter left with our orders I poured more wine into her glass, paying close attention to how much she had. I wanted her happy, not tipsy. I figured this was as good a time as any and if I waited much longer the chances of her glancing at her hand and missing what I put there earlier were greater. So I took her hand in mine.

"Babe. You know you are the most important person in my life and the only one I want to share it with...forever. I love you more than anything and want to do this right, this time. Will you marry me?"

She looked gobsmacked and then glanced down to her empty ring finger.

"Carlos?" she questioned, noticing the missing diamonds. "How?"

"Nimble fingers," I told her, unpalming the ring and positioning it over her left ring finger in wait of an answer.

The tears were running down her face for the second time in one day but she still hadn't responded. And I was hoping for a more definitive answer than the ok I got earlier.

"Steph?"

"I love you too, Carlos," she breathed out between sobs. "And yes, I very much want to marry you."

"Thank you, Babe," I kissed her finger, then very carefully put the ring into position on it. It was going to stay there this time until it was joined by another.

I heard her phone buzzing in her bag but thankfully, instead of ferreting it out, she kept eye-contact with me as I moved closer to her and kissed her. I wasn't going to make a scene in a busy restaurant but I needed to feel her lips on mine at this particular moment. We'd celebrate more thoroughly tonight. Dammit. Her damn phone buzzed again.

"Leave it, Babe."

"But what if it's important?"

"They'll call back."

The buzzing stopped, but mine began vibrating in my pocket.

"Seems like someone is desperate," I told her, pulling it out to look at the caller ID. "Lula," I stated, reading Talulah Banks from my display.

"What could she want? She knows I have a broken leg."

"Only one way to find out," I said answering the disruptive object.

"Speak." "Yes she's here but this is a bad time." "Yes, her cast is off. Do you need to talk to her _now_ or can this wait till tomorrow?" "Babe, Lula," I said, passing my phone over. God help me, they're all crazy.

"Hey Lula. What's up?" she asked putting my phone on speaker.

"I've been working with Lester to apprehend some of your skips while you been recuperating and we have this child pornographer who went FTA last week. I just found him sitting in a bar on Comstock. Lester isn't answering, so since you were supposed to get your cast off today, I figured..."

"Carlos can get in touch with Lester. I still can't drive and this _really_ is a bad time..."

"You two doing the nasty?"

"Lula! No, we're having dinner in Princeton. Listen I gotta go. Lester will call you in a few."

She hung up and handed me back my phone, her hand covering her eyes as if she had a bad headache. Lula usually gave me one, too.

We have an code that we use to signal an emergency. This wasn't exactly an emergency but since Santos has pulled similar shit on me over the years, I used it. When he picked up, a little out of breath, I had to laugh to myself. "Call Lula. She has your FTA in her sights on Comstock. Doubt he'll sit there all night." And then I hung up.

I turned my attention back to Steph. "Don't know what he was doing but he was a little breathy, if know what I mean?" She couldn't help but giggle; Santos had a reputation. And just like that Steph's bad mood was broken.

Our appetizers arrived right after that, too. And then Steph moaned her way through three courses. God, I needed to get home.


	10. Chapter 10

_Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews. I know I don't answer them as often as I should but trust me when I say that each and every one means something special to me and that they keep me writing. I was hoping to add a little action to the story with Steph's broken leg being on the mend and all. Hope you like._ __

 _ **Chapter 10**_

As expected, Steph wanted to stay for dessert so I begrudgingly asked for the menu. I would have rather gone home and had Steph for dessert. But of course, I allowed her sweet tooth to come between us...again.

"Oh look, Carlos. They have tiramisu," she told me, reading every line of the small addendum as if her life depended on it. "Are you sure you don't want some?"

"I'm good, Babe. Order whatever you want."

"Whatever? I can get the tiramisu _and_ the cannolis?"

"You can get whatever you like but I'd prefer you didn't throw up on me when I roll you on top later."

"Yeah, you might even rethink that proposal."

"Not gonna happen." If she only _knew_ how long it had taken me to get my shit together.

The waiter came back to take our order and I couldn't help but wonder what Steph would do.

"Single espresso for me," I told him while Steph ran her finger down the menu one more time.

"I'll have the tiramisu," she ultimately conceded. "And a coffee. Light, please. And could you bring sugar with that? Thank you," she added, looking smug.

"Proud of you, Babe."

The phone in my pocket decided that now would be a good time to chime in. I looked at the display, put the speaker volume on low and handed it over to Steph.

"Lula?" she asked, tentatively taking it from me and glancing at it.

"Sorry to bother you again but it took Lester a while to get here...and Eisman left before he arrived. I tried to follow him but I wasn't going to run around Comstock on foot and I didn't want Lester to think I'd abandoned him. We don't do that to our partners..."

"What is it that you want Lula?"

"Can you come with me to pick him up tomorrow? I know where he's gonna be. It'll be easy and you won't have to do anything but sit in my car so no one steals it."

"What about Lester?"

"I'm pretty sure I'm on his shit list now."

Steph looked up at me and studied my face. I could tell she was feeling the draw of a little action. And as long as she wasn't doing anything more stressful than sitting in a car, I wasn't going to stop her.

She looked back down to the phone and then up at me again.

"You're decision, Babe. Just remember you can't drive. And maybe take Santos?"

She frowned but nodded. "What time?"

"Most days he heads over to the car wash on Broad at around 2:00. He goes into the office for about twenty minutes and then he comes out. I thought that would be a good place to get him, seeing that running through all those suds ain't much of an option. He be on his ass in ten seconds flat and then ol' Lula can pounce."

It wasn't a _terrible_ plan but I was going to send a few men out to watch from the sidelines anyway. I wasn't taking any chances with Stephanie.

"Ok. I'll come with you. You want to pick me up at Rangeman around 1:15?"

"Well I been being nostalgic for the good ol' days. Thought we might wanna do Cluck in a Bucket, too. How's about I get you at noon?"

"Carlos wants me to take Lester."

"Well he's just gonna have to get his own ass there. This here is ladies time and he ain't no lady."

I'll say.

"I'm sure he can meet us at the car wash."

"This is gonna be fun. Thanks. I'll see you tomorrow. I'll be out front at 12 sharp."

"Ok, Lula," she said, handing me back my phone and rubbing her temples. "I love her but sometimes she gives me a headache."

"You going to be good with this, Babe?"

"Peachy."

Steph seemed anxious the next morning. It's been just about a month since she broke her leg and had to stop bounty hunting so I could understand the anxiety.

"Babe, are you ok? You can call Lula and cancel if you're not up to this, you know."

"I know. I'm good. I just haven't been out in the field for a while. And I don't want to be tempted to try to take him down if he accidentally finds his way near Lula's car while I'm watching it."

"That's why I want you to take Santos. He can be your legs for the day."

"Yeah, but I figured he'd partner with Lula. That _is_ what he volunteered to do. Well, before she said _something_ to piss him off."

"Santos has a short memory..."

"I don't think Lula should be doing a takedown alone..."

"Then Hal _and_ Santos will meet you at the car wash. _Hal_ can be your legs. He won't mind. He volunteered, too"

"Really?"

"As did Cal and Manny."

"My _hubby_?"

"Babe." I told her gruffly. I know they joke about her playing Mrs. Manuel Ramos to get in to see him after he was shot but I don't find it funny. No one is going to be her husband but me.

"Sorry, you know we laugh about it."

"Unfortunately I do. Although I'd rather not hear it."

"Are you jealous, Ranger?"

"Of Manny? No. I just hate that he calls you _wifey_."

"It's a term of endearment. He was happy I snuck in to check on him. Jeez, you'd think I married him for real. You have to lighten up. I'm not going anywhere, Carlos. I said yes, I'm wearing your ring and all is good in my book."

"I'm sorry, Babe. I guess I'm a little possessive."

"A little?"

"I'll try to work harder on my social skills. I realize I'm being unrealistic; you have friends, acquaintances and a job to do. This is new to me. I've never had a fiancé before."

"Aside from Dickie, who doesn't count, me neither. The 'sort of engaged to be engaged' with Joe was bullshit. Even I knew it. It was a way of keeping you at bay. I'm sorry. You know I was afraid of being hurt..."

"I'd never hurt you."

"But I didn't know that until recently."

Me and my big mouth. "I guess I had commitment issues, too."

"Guess? The things you said to me were the reasons I tried to stay away..."

"I'm sorry, Babe. Forgive me?"

"Of course I do. Now if you'll let me get ready, I have a _commitment_ to Lula."

I kissed her and let her get up from the table so she could get dressed for her lunch date/takedown.

She came out of our bedroom around 11:30 looking way to good for someone who was just meeting a friend for lunch. Her hair was perfect, her makeup subtle except for the red lips...and she was dressed to the nines in wide-legged pants to hide the boot and a low cut stretchy red tee.

"You look beautiful, Babe. Sure you don't want to stay home?" I asked, staring at her lips.

"Carlos. I have work to do. In case you don't remember, Lester is just _helping_ me keep my job so Vinnie doesn't find a permanent replacement. I should be back by 2."

I had already thrown a tracker into her bag, unsure if any of the others I'd thrown in over the last six months had been neutralized. Of course, I could have just asked the control room to pull one of them up but I'm a man who errs on the side of caution. At least where Steph was concerned.

"I'll take the afternoon off. I want to be with you after your first day back."

"You're being ridiculous. You have a business to run. I'll stop by your office when Lula drops me off so you can see for yourself that I'm ok."

She was right of course. I didn't know why I couldn't seem to give her a little more rope. The worst was over, she'd only get stronger and stronger from here. "Well at least let me walk you to the door and we can wait for Lula together."

"Ok. Fair enough," she told me rolling her eyes in that adorable way I love so much.

When we got down to the foyer, Lula was already outside waiting in her Firebird. I knew that Tank had scattered a few trackers inside of it, so I wasn't worried. They had more coverage than they normally had.

"Your ride is here," I told her pointing out the car as flamboyant as Lula herself. "Have a good lunch," I told her, kissing her goodbye in front of Benny at the desk.

 _ **Lula's POV**_

I saw my girl and the Man of Mystery make their way to Rangeman's front door. She looked good and didn't even seem to be limping. He looked _mighty fine_ , too. Not as fine as Tanky, but fine none the less. I beeped to let them know I saw them. Batman nodded to me and pulled Steph in for a kiss before letting her go. He then placed a kiss to the ring finger of her left hand. I thought I saw the light catch on something there...I'd have to look closer when she got in.

She opened the passenger door and made her way inside, more careful with that right leg than she was before she broke it. I ain't never broke anything but I could only imagine it still hurt. I took the opportunity to glance up at her hand. Yep, there was a big diamond on it. I could only imagine the scene Officer Hottie would create once he got wind of it. Good thing we weren't going to Pinos.

"Sos I see you got a new addition," I told her, referring to the ring.

"It's better than the cast and I can take it off to shower."

"That ain't the addition I'm talking about," I told her waving my left hand in her face.

"Oh, yeah...that. Um...Carlos asked me to marry him last night..."

"Congratulations, girlfriend. You need a hug," I told her, leaning awkwardly over the console to pull her into my arms. "Ain't everyday a girl gets engaged. Your mom and granny know yet?"

"Nope. We're going to stop by tonight and tell them but I think Carlos already spoke to my dad."

"Really? He asked permission? That don't seem like a Batman thing."

"I'm not sure but the last time I spoke with my dad, he sounded like he was in on a secret."

"Uh oh, this be getting good," I told her putting the car in gear so we could get to Clucky's and I could get more of the story from her.

It was still on the cool side and the sun wasn't too bright so we decided to eat our chicken and biscuits indoors. Not a particularly good place for a conversation, so not surprising Steph didn't tell me much. Connie and I could try to get the details from her tomorrow but knowing Steph, if she didn't feel like talking about something, she wouldn't.

Even though we didn't say too much, when I looked up at the clock it was twenty to 2. We needed to get going so we'd be in place before Eisman showed up. I had money from my takedowns this month since Les gave me the whole bounty, so I paid the bill for both of us and we got back into my car. Broad was about 5 minutes away so we'd still be fifteen minutes early. I just hoped Eisman wasn't going to be a no-show today.

I saw a black Explorer parked down the block from where I parked and pointed it out to white girl. "Looks like Les is already here..."

"And probably Hal, too. Carlos is a little over-protective," she told me as both doors of the Explorer opened simultaneously and Hal and Lester made their way over to my baby.

"He's already here," Les told me, pointing to a white Range Rover and ushering me out of the driver seat while Hal got into position to access it. "There's no back door so let's hang out in front. He's been in there for five minutes, should be coming out soon."

I looked over at Steph to make sure she was ok with the arrangements but Les already had a grip on my elbow and was pushing me away from my car. Guess we were doing this now.

Just as we got to the front door, it opened abruptly and two men ran out. Les called Hal on that comm thing they wear and took off after them. My skip, so I took off after Lester, Hal passing me seconds later. We were all in heavy pursuit, so it took me a second to realize that I heard my car engine turn over. What the fuck? I stopped and turned around and sure enough my car was on the move: Eisman in the driver's seat and Steph still in the passenger's.

I whistled for Les to let him know what was coming up behind us and then I saw Steph's body lean towards the driver, pulling the wheel sharply to the left. It also de-accelerated suddenly as if someone pulled the emergency brake. Well not too suddenly since it careened into a parked car. Shit. My Baby! Steph! The last thing I thought about before I moved towards the curb to throw up was that Ranger was going to kill me.

"Jesus Christ, Lula, what did you eat?" Les asked coming over to my side after making sure Hal had Eisman in cuffs and Steph was unharmed.

"We been together for a while now. You know a big, beautiful woman like me gotta keep up her strength. White girl and I had lunch."

"God help me," he said, shaking his head and leading me over to my heavy-damaged baby. I burst into tears as soon as I saw the exploded air bags and the smoke coming out of the engine.

Two other Rangeman guys, I think one was Cal, came around the corner with two guys in tow. One looked an awful lot like Eisman so I did a double take to make sure Hal still had him in cuffs.

"Brother," Cal told me, securing them into the back of yet another Rangeman vehicle.

Well whatever was going on, it looked like we got them all. I was praising myself, to myself, as yet another Rangeman vehicle pulled to a stop next to us. Tank and Ranger. _Fuck._


	11. Chapter 11

Thank you for all the wonderful reviews of my last chapter. I loved them all and I really hope this one doesn't disappoint.

 **Chapter 11**

 _ **Tank's POV**_

Lula told me that she had been running surveillance on Gary Eisman. The Eisman brothers, Gary and Cole, have been in our crosshairs for a while now. Not only was Gary arrested for distributing child pornography and decided that a visit to the courthouse wasn't in his best interest but they were also on the FBIs radar for money laundering. Funny, since Cole owned that car wash on Broad. Laundering? Car wash? No?

I guess I'm the only one who thinks that's a hoot.

Anyway, I knew Lula had called Steph to help her with the takedown. Now Steph may have graduated to a soft cast but in no way was she well enough to apprehend slippery characters like the Eisman boys. As soon as I overheard their plan, I texted Ranger.

He assured me that two teams were already onboard with all our research, first-hand observations and FBI acceptance. And that Steph's _job_ was simply to car sit. Just so you know, we work with the feds more often than you would think since no one ever would question our regular patrols. Sort of like 'extra eyes for the alphabet guys'. Ha. Ha.

I'd stayed over at Lula's and once again woke up with a cramp in my leg. We really needed a California King in _both_ our places of residence. A regular king-sized bed just wasn't big enough for _sleeping_ , especially when your bedmate likes to spread out. Or better yet, Lula needed to move into my house with me. My cats had their own wing, complete with a catwalk and an observation tower and hardly ever came into the main part of the house except to be fed or to pounce on me. It's also been over a year since Lula's started getting her twice-weekly allergy shots so I was pretty sure she could tolerate them. _And my cleaning lady is thorough._

But I digress.

We were up early, well...for... _extra-curricular activities..._ and I left by 5 am. Lula went back to bed but I set her alarm for 7 so she could get ready for her day. She was really excited to see Steph, even though I told her more than once that Steph wasn't cleared for bounty hunting yet.

" _I know_ , Tank. And we'll be _careful_ ," were the last words she said to me before I left.

So here I am 8-hours later, jumping into a Rover with Ranger, on our way to God knows what. Lula's car just went off the grid with both Steph and Eisman in it. To say Ranger is not happy is definitely an understatement.

Broad is only a 5-minute car trip away but we got there in less than 3. We saw the carnage immediately and Ranger was out of the car before it came to a full stop. Lula's Firebird was a crumpled piece of metal with both air bags deployed. Three unknowns were sitting in the back of 2 Rangeman vehicles. I assumed Gary Eisman was the lone occupant since we had the paperwork to bring him back into the system. Another assumption was that Cole Eisman was one of the two unidentifieds in our second car. Lula was standing with Santos and Hal, but Stephanie was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is she?" Ranger pulled Santos by the collar, looking for an answer, practically choking him.

"Cop POS. Over there. Morelli showed up," he choked out, pointing.

 _ **Ranger's POV**_

Santos had told us en route that no one was injured, except for some slight airbag burn, but I needed to _see_ Steph to be sure. When I didn't catch sight of her, I pulled Santos aside. He pointed to an older model Cressida across the street. Morelli was at the wheel and Steph in the passenger seat; so I made my way over.

"Didn't take you long," Morelli said through tight teeth.

I didn't know what he was talking about but then he picked up Steph's left hand for punctuation.

I kept my blank face in place. Wasn't going to get into that with him right now. In my opinion the better man won and that was all there was to it.

"I guess no one else knows or my phone would be ringing off the hook," he added.

"Babe, are you ok?" I ignored him and opened the passenger door to pull Steph into my arms, despite the pissy face she was still making at Morelli.

"I'm good. We got our man," she grinned at me. "...and a couple of others, too. Morelli told me that he and the Feds have been watching them for a while."

I nodded. No sense getting the cop all worked up again but TPD was low man on this particular totem pole. And lucky for us that Lula and Santos' FTA was the one and the same _Eisman_ that we'd been even tracking and even luckier that they knew where to find him. Not so lucky that Steph was dragged into this but from what I hear, she held her own, broken leg and all.

"Proud of you, Babe."

"Thanks. But I kind of destroyed another car. I hope Lula can forgive me?"

"Of course I can," Lula's voice came from the other side of the street. "But she's a classic car sos gonna be hard to find a replacement."

"Santos. You have a new assignment," I called back, pointing to Lula's 2002 vehicle.

"Trans Am Depot*. There's a 2017 Outlaw Edition and a Super Duty 455 that I think you'll like. They're not 100% made by Pontiac but the logo is on them and the buffs are going crazy. Give me the specs you need, Lula, and I think I can get one here by week's end."

Sometimes it's good to have a car fanatic on your team.

"Ready to head home, Babe?"

"Yeah. I think that was enough excitement for one day."

"You need to get your share of the bounty," Lula surprised me by telling her. "I'll have Tank drop it off tomorrow, if that's ok?"

"Thanks Lula, but I didn't do anything."

"White girl, you apprehended Eisman. What do you mean you didn't do anything? We're splitting this 50/50. 'Specially since Lester here don't take no cut 'cause he gets paid by Rangeman. This one's a big ticket, too. We should be able to go shopping."

"Yeah but I can't drive and you don't have a car."

"That's easy. _Lester_ will take us."

I had to laugh at that one. I don't know how she gets away with it, but she does. Even though I knew he'd _never_ take them to the mall, it was funny to hear her give him up. But hell, sobering thought; that mall driver might end up being Tank. _Or me._

I grabbed Steph by the elbow to lead her over to the Rover. Then I remembered that Tank and Lula needed rides as well. Guess we were going to be in their presence a little while longer. I just hoped the girls would forget all about that shopping trip. I'd have to do something to change the subject.

"Where are you heading?" I asked them, opening the passenger door for Steph.

"My cleaning lady was in today so the cat hair at my house should be at a minimum? What do you say?" Tank asked Lula. "And I have cornbread," he added with a smile.

" _Cornbread?_ Ok! You're house it is."

I wondered for a sec if Steph and I sounded like that? I sure as hell hoped not but I was glad that my friend was happy.

"Ready, Babe?"

We were going to the Plums for dinner and Steph had tried on at least 4 different outfits in the last 15 minutes.

"This isn't going to work either," she mumbled from the closet and I could hear a shoe hitting a wall. Deciding that I could possibly be of some assistance before a new paint job was in order, I made my way through our bedroom.

"Can I help?"

"I have nothing to wear. We're going to drop the 'e' bomb on my family, I should at least look the part. This is too childish," she barked, pointing to something she had on a minute ago. "And this is too sexy."

"I personally like the _sexy_ one."

"You do? You don't think it's too _distracting_?"

"Might not be a bad tactic but I doubt anyone will notice but me. And it will definitely distract me until I can get you home later."

"Um. Ok. What shoe should I wear with it? And don't say _left_ or I'll have to shoot you."

I took in the height of her boot before scanning the shoes that lined the floor. "How about this one?" I'd picked up a strappy sandal that had just the hint of a wedge.

"Isn't that too conservative for this dress?"

"Well you can't wear a 4-inch heel with that boot, and this will at least show off your sexy foot."

"I have a sexy foot?"

"You have a sexy _everything_ ," I whispered, letting my words buzz the sensitive area of her neck.

"Keep that up and we won't be going anywhere."

"Mmmmmm."

"Carlos!"

"I think you should get dressed. You're way too tempting running around in your underwear." I scanned her body ending on those long legs. "Sexy."

"God you're a pig."

"Your pig," I laughed, swatting her lightly on her ass.

We were parked outside of the Plums 10-minutes later and Steph was doing some deep breathing.

"Everything will be fine, Babe. We can tell them over dinner."

"My mother will notice my hand before then."

"So, we'll tell them _now_. Probably best to get it over with, anyway."

"I don't know how you can be so low key about this. My mother is going to start nagging us for a date so she can rent a hall. I _really_ don't want to do that again..."

"So we won't."

"Easy for you to say..."

"We just stand firm. No halls, no eggplant bridesmaid dresses, no shit you don't want..."

"I can't believe you remembered by sister's bad taste in bridal party's outfits. Thank God Albert got cold feet and the went to Disney World instead..."

"We had a few romantic days in Disney World, too."

"Hmmm. Yeah I guess we did. Kind of unplanned but not too bad."

"Not too bad? I seemed to remember you liking it once you got over your Morelli moment."

"I know what you're doing. You're trying to distract me so I'll stop hyperventilating and go inside..."

"And is it working?"

"Yeah. Let's do this."

I quickly got out and had Steph's door open before she could change her mind. I offered her my arm, fobbed the car locked and we walked up her parent's walkway arm in arm. Her mother and grandmother appeared at the front door just seconds before we did.

"Was wondering when you were gonna get out of the car," her grandmother told her. "Your mother was already contemplating what to do with an overdone pot roast."

"Sorry," she told them. "We were just discussing how best to tell you the news."

"The news?" Helen picked up on the 2 words that meant _gossip_.

Steph was beginning to breathe hard again, so I took over.

"I asked Steph to marry me last night and she said yes," I told them, taking Steph's hand in mine so they could see, unlike with the cop, this engagement was planned and even included a ring.

"Does Joseph know about this?" her mother questioned. It was a little odd if you ask me.

"He does now," Steph told them grinning. Obviously thinking about her unorthodox way of broaching the subject with her ex.

"Well congratulations are in order then," her father said turning off the TV and getting out of his chair. "I even have champagne on ice..."

"You knew?" my fiancé queried.

"Yes. Ranger, um, _Carlos_ stopped by the lodge a few weeks ago to ask for your hand. He's a pretty charming guy once you get past the all black..."

"We can have that champagne with dinner. The pot roast is going to dry out if I don't take it out of the oven now," her mother broke the moment.

I already knew they weren't the warmest family in the world but that was giving short shrift to a big day in Stephanie's life.

"If it dries out, I'll take everyone out to dinner. Let's allow Steph this special moment," I told them, stopping Helen in her tracks on her way back to the kitchen.

Her dad grinned from ear to ear, walked to the refrigerator and produced a bottle of Dom Perignon. Must have cost him a pretty penny. Her grandmother opened the China closet in the dining room and pulled out 5 long-stemmed champagne glasses. Meanwhile, her mother still looked perturbed. Probably the result of my standing up for Stephanie. Too bad. It was something I intended to do as often as necessary.

*Look it up. Trans Am Depot dot com-no spaces and a real dot. They've been making Pontiac Firebirds based on the original casts since 2013.


	12. Chapter 12

_Thank you for all the great reviews. I'm trying to up my poor 'on-time' performance schedule and post weekly until I finish this story…but real life may still rear its ugly head. Thanks again for sticking with me._

 **Chapter 12**

 _ **Ranger's POV**_

Steph's dad opened the champagne and poured everyone a glass after her grandmother came back into the living room with cheese and crackers. Once we all had a flute in hand, Frank offered up a toast.

"To my Pumpkin and Carlos. Congratulations! I'm so happy for you and will support you in any way I can. Salud," he directed his Spanish toast to me. Followed by a "Cin cin," a less formal Italian one, to the room. And a "cento di questi giorni" another Italian toast that means "may you have a hundred of these days." Frank had much more depth than I think anyone gave him credit for.

Steph's mother and grandmother both responded with raised glasses and a 'Cin cin'. Obvious they'd been to a number of Italian weddings on Frank's side.

Steph turned to me to clink glasses. "Salud, Carlos," she said. "Salud, Babe," I responded and she grinned broadly. It was so good to see her smile that I leaned over, kissed her and her mother gasped. It was just a polite kiss so I could only imagine what she'd do if I gave her daughter something with more intent. Probably faint on the spot.

I decided to change the subject. "How's the pot roast holding up? Should I call for reservations at Rossini's?"

"Let me look," she said to her credit and marched off into the kitchen.

She came back a few minutes later, looking worried.

"Pot roast is delicate," she said and I did an internal Stephanie eye roll. Until all of us kids gathered at the table, my mother could keep pot roast warm for over an hour and it never tasted any different to me. "I can probably refrigerate it and it will be ok for leftovers, but I think it's lost its magic."

Pot roast has magic?

I pulled out my phone and called Benny at our front desk. After a brief back and forth we had 7:00 reservations. Just enough time for Helen and Edna to change.

Benny had requested a table in the back which was good for many reasons. The most obvious being that Rossini's is located right in the middle of the Burg, Trenton's hotbed for gossip, and we were celebrating Stephanie's engagement...to _me_. It also allowed me to sit with my back to the wall so I could be fully aware of everything that was going on.

We were led to our table and I was really glad to see that it was offset from the other diners. It was as private as a public place could offer. As we were handed our menus, I ordered a bottle of wine for the table. I really hoped none of Plums' friends or neighbors would be in attendance tonight and decide to stop over for a hello but if they did, they did. Steph and I had nothing to hide.

"So we can order whatever we want?" Edna asked, scanning the menu.

"This dinner is in honor of Stephanie," I pointed out, hopeful they would be more respectful of her, and of us, next time. "Get whatever you'd like."

"I've always wanted to try their surf 'n turf but all my dates have been on social security and they just wanted to split the cheapest thing on the menu."

I laughed to myself but kept a straight face. "I understand the surf 'n turf is good here."

"Oh boy. See, Helen, my granddaughter ain't marrying no _cheapskate_."

"Mother, can you please keep your voice down. We don't need an audience."

No we didn't.

Our wine arrived with the fanfare of cork approval, the small pour, wine swirling to open it up, a sniff and the perfunctory taste. I accomplished all of this much to the satisfaction of the wine steward and open-mouthed stares from the 3 elders in attendance. Of course I was educated in the art of wine.

"Very good," I mumbled and our sommelier began to pour clockwise around the table beginning with Edna.

"So let me get this straight," Helen began, in a hushed tone. "Have you two been dating long? I mean...of course I've met you before and Stephanie talks about you all the time...but I thought..."

"Ranger doesn't date, mom..." Steph started to explain. That sounded horrible, even to me.

"Not in the traditional sense but that will change," I interrupted. "Steph and I have been in a relationship of sorts for the last 3 years..."

"But she... _you_ ," Helen looked from me to Stephanie, _"..._ were going out with Joseph?"

"It's complicated, mom."

"Are you pregnant?"

"No..."

"Then why the rush?"

"There's no rush," I told them, which wasn't necessarily true. _I_ wanted the festivities to be over with. "Steph had a realization about Morelli, in fact I think more than one, and we just moved our relationship forward." I didn't embellish on my opportunistic tendencies.

"I see," she said through clenched teeth. She didn't see at all. After a moment of retrospection she was back. "So what can Frank and I do to help with the wedding? I'm assuming you'll want to get married in a church. I can talk to Father Francis about getting your first marriage annulled..."

"Mother, please! Carlos and I haven't talked about _anything_ yet. And we may choose to elope to Vegas to avoid all that."

"I really wish you wouldn't. Your dad and I would like to see you get married..."

Actually, I believed her and I was sure my mother and father felt the same way. Steph looked like she was about to argue so I gently placed my hand on her thigh to calm her down. We'd figure it all out in good time.

"You're the voice of reason, aren't you?" she asked me.

"I didn't say anything."

"You don't have to. I know what you're thinking."

I raised an eyebrow at her. I was thinking I'd love to get the hell out of here and spend the rest of the evening alone with her. But she probably knew that, too.

"I love how he don't say anything but gives her that look and she gets it," her grandmother told the table as if Steph and I weren't there. "It's like something your grandpa Harry and I would do. You sure you two weren't married in a past life?"

"Carlos doesn't say a lot so you learn how to read into what he does say," Steph offered instead of a direct answer."

"He sure talked to me at the lodge," her father mumbled looking up from the bread he was buttering.

"Well you don't say a lot either, dad. Three words for you is a whole conversation. You two must've gotten along great."

"Hmmph," he said and went back to his buttering.

Yeah I was marrying into a very strange family.

Our waiter came back to take the order and I had laugh to myself. Not only did Edna request the surf 'n turf but she also got a side of Tuscan fries _and_ a side of spinach. I didn't take her for being a big eater so I had a feeling she was already planning her doggie bag. Frank, Helen and I ordered the oven-roasted salmon, I got mine with a salad; they had broccoli, and Stephanie ordered Fettuccini Alfredo with extra cheese and a large garlic bread for the table.

"Babe."

"What? I'm hungry."

"You never cease to amaze me. And I don't know where you put it all."

"Duh! In my mouth," she sassed me.

My phone chose that second to vibrate in my pocket. "I'm offline so this has to be important," I told Steph and whoever else was eavesdropping and got up to take my call outside.

It was Tank.

"Yo."

"Wanted to inform you of a potential problem. Oleg Petryaev is stateside and has been asking about you around Newark. I got some eyes on your family but maybe it's time for them to take a trip to the Caribbean until we can neutralize him."

"Who gave us the intel?"

"FBI. It's serious."

"Just Petryaev?"

"Probably has some men with him but he was the one doing the asking. Brett and Hal have already left to work with the Feds and establish a satellite office. We'll get 'em."

"I know, but this doesn't make me too happy. Steph is still hobbling around and would be an easy target if he knew about her. I'm going to try to convince her to join my family in St. John. And Julie is due to come up next week from Florida. I guess we should make alternate arrangements. Steph and I should be back in the building within the hour. Keep me posted."

I then rejoined the table, poker face in place.

"Bad news?" Steph asked.

"Another individual from my past has shown up in Newark," I told her, purposely keeping my voice low. "I'll tell you more when we get home."

"Real bad?"

"Could be."

"What are you two talking about?" Edna asked, looking at us.

"Might have to cut dinner a little short. Something's come up."

"Ya gotta go _now_? We haven't even got our food yet. And you drove. How we gonna get home?" Edna probed.

"No. We can enjoy dinner. It's not that urgent. We just can't linger for hours. Tank will call me if the situation changes."

"Oh good. It's not everyday I get to order surf 'n turf...and I was planning on enjoying it. Twice." She winked at me.

"I figured as much," I smiled at her. Usually a smart idea to remain on the good side of the granny.

Dinner was fine but my mind was occupied with other things. I replayed Petryaev's threat to me; the one I didn't take seriously 7 years ago. And I knew I had to tell Steph as much as possible without breaking confidentiality. Between bites and polite conversation I figured out what I could and could not say. This wasn't the first time in our relationship that a confidentiality issue has come up and I knew she'd put two and two together when I mentioned yet another Russian name.

We dropped the Plums and Mrs. Mazur off at their house and finally Steph and I had the privacy of the Cayenne to continue our conversation.

"Oleg Petryaev. That's the name of this particular problem," I began. "He's somehow tracked me to Newark and has been asking about my whereabouts. I can't go into detail about how we know each other but I can tell you that his even being stateside says he's come to seek revenge. We are already working with the FBI, he's also on their radar, and hope to have him neutralized as quickly as possible..."

"But in the meantime?"

"Rangeman owns beachfront property on St. John, one of the U.S Virgin Islands. My family in Newark won't be safe staying where they are so I'm going to ask them to take a little Easter vacation. They'll fly corporate so there will be no paper trail. As you know, Julie is scheduled to come up next week and we can play this two ways..."

"Carlos?"

"Hear me out, Babe," I asked and she nodded. "We can either postpone her visit or we can have Easter on St. John. Of course I'll have to let Rachel and Ron know about the change in plans..."

"And you want to put me in that safe house too? Do I have any say..."

"It's not a safe house, its more like a sprawling mansion on the beach. And I'll be there with you. Think of this as a Spring Break for all of us. And I don't see this lasting more a week."

"And why are you not solving your own problems?"

I knew she'd ask.

"The FBI are more than capable of finding him. He'll either stand trial in this country or be extradited back to Russia. Or something could happen to alter both of those scenarios. I don't need to hang around to be a target or a hero. And I want _you_ as safe as possible. To my knowledge he knows nothing about my recent past or he'd be in Trenton instead of Newark. But a little intel goes a long way and I'd rather we not tempt fate."


	13. Chapter 13

Thank you so much for all the reviews. I'm sorry if I wasn't able to PM everyone back—I think I got halfway through and then work got in the way. But know you weren't forgotten, each and every review brings a smile to my face. A lot more from Ranger here.

 **Chapter 13**

I called Julie as soon as we got home. If she wasn't interested in going to another warm climate, I was going to postpone her trip.

"Ranger? Dad? Is something wrong?" she asked instead of a hello. I guess, because I didn't call her as often as she called me, she assumed the worst.

"Something's come up in New Jersey and I was wondering how you would feel about spending your Easter break in the Caribbean instead."

"Does mom know?"

"Not yet. I wanted to get your take on this first. I have a large house on a private beach and I'll invite grandma, grandpa and Aunt Lauren to join us there. But only if you want to go."

"Sure. It's two and a half hours north or two and a half hours south. I really don't care, I just want to see you and Steph. And grandma and grandpa. Aunt Lauren would be a bonus, I don't know her at all."

This was true. Julie's only met my entire family once-and she was an infant at the time. Daria, Celia, Isabella and Alex all had families of their own and were removed from Newark. Only my folks and Lauren, by the nature that she was enrolled in a near-by college, still lived in Newark proper.

"She's definitely got a strong personality but I think you'll get along; she's only eight years older than you are."

"Really? She could be like a big sister. That's so cool. So do you want to tell mom or do you want me to?"

"About Lauren?" I asked slightly confused about what I was supposed to be telling Rachel.

"No, dad. About the Caribbean."

"I'll talk to her. Is she around now? Or should I call back at a better time?"

"No this is a good time. She hasn't started to make dinner yet," she told me before yelling out, "Mom. Ranger's on the phone and he wants to talk to you."

She must have been nearby because I heard the Julie's cellphone exchange hands before I heard Rachel's voice.

"Hi Carlos. What's up?"

"I don't want to alarm Julie. Is she hanging around listening?"

"Julie honey, why don't you help Ariel with her homework so Ranger and I can talk. I'll come find you; I won't hang up. Ok?"

Rachel was back on the line a few seconds later. "Ok, what's up?"

"You know there are things I can't tell you, or anyone, about my military past and this is one of them. All I can say is that someone from that time has re-emerged and is looking for me. I sincerely doubt he knows about the existence of Julie, or Steph for that matter, but I'd feel better if we were out of the country until the FBI can take care of him. I have a large house on a beach in the Caribbean, on the island of St. John, and I can send a private plane down to pick up Julie. The plane will originate from Newark with my parents, my sister Lauren, Steph and I on it. The house is secure and I'll have additional security set up, probably in the form of Lauren's boyfriend Brett, who works for me, and one or two other men. This way we won't have to cancel our plans since I'd hate to disappoint Julie."

"Is it safe?"

"The house and beach are very secure _and_ very private and with the additional bumped up security measures no one will be able to get in or get out undetected. I can guarantee that."

"And this is still on the same time frame? Julie has classes through Friday."

"We can be at the airport 5:00 Friday night. We fly corporate so there is no real schedule if that time isn't convenient for you."

"We'll be there. We can go straight from school."

"Thanks, Rachel."

"I wouldn't normally be so accommodating without double checking the details but Julie really wants to see you, Steph and her grandparents and it sounds like you have this all worked out. I'll tell her that I'm ok with this change of plan and put her back on."

Thank God.

"Mom says it's cool and I can join you guys in your Caribbean hide away," Julie jubilantly told me when the phone changed hands again.

"It's hardly a hide-away. I think you'll be surprised. It's private but with all the amenities. We have a catamaran and a number of kayaks if you enjoy water sports."

"I love the water and this will be a good excuse to buy another bathing suit. Mom only lets me get tankinis but since you said this place is private I'm going to try to persuade her to let me get a bikini. I mean, I'm fourteen. All my girlfriends wear bikinis. Some even wear teeny tiny ones."

Oh boy.

"So it's all squared away. We'll pick you up at the Kendall-Tamiami Airport, Friday evening at 5. I'll text your mother the exact runway once we've been given clearance to land but there's a large, air-conditioned terminal for you to hang out in." What I didn't tell her was that flying private allowed me and my men to keep our guns with us. And I _preferred_ flying into this airport.

I hung up with Julie and turned to Steph who was nearby listening to my one-sided conversation.

"I assume you picked up that Rachel is ok with the change in plans. Would you like to see pictures of the beach house?"

"I still have a problem with being _ordered_ to go into hiding but sure, show me the pictures."

"Steph, please don't give me a hard time. If this wasn't a serious threat, I wouldn't even ask. This man is deadly and I don't want to risk you or Julie getting on his radar. You might even like the place," I told her opening my phone and pulling up the pictures I took when I bought it.

"This is...wow. This place is _beautiful_ ," she exclaimed, looking forward and back between the pictures that really didn't do much to show off the land's natural beauty. "When did you buy this?"

"When I learned how much you liked the beach. A little over two years ago."

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that. You bought this...this _mansion_ for me? When we weren't even together?"

"There's a look that you get on your face whenever you even _think_ about the beach. It's the same look you get standing in front of a donut display. I had no idea if we'd be together or not but having a house on the beach would allow me to remember that look forever."

"Are you being facetious or a romantic?"

"I prefer to think of myself as opportunistic."

"Yeah, you would."

"So are we settled? Do you now believe me when I tell you that it's not a safe house?"

"Ok, it's a safe _haven_. And I'm sorry I was so flippant earlier."

"You're forgiven," I told her bending down to give her a kiss.

My phone was buzzing in my pocket when we broke apart. Well, _something_ was buzzing down there, and the other alternative doesn't buzz. I pulled it out of my cargos to read the display. Tank. _Again_.

"Hector's been scouring Newark with his ear to the ground and he says that Petryaev has picked up information on your current whereabouts. I'd say you have about an hour before I'd consider Trenton unsafe. If you and Steph pack up now, Brett can get your family and meet us at Trenton-Mercer. There's a plane on standby. I can pick up Julie later in the week, she knows me, and your window is small."

"I'll call them to let them know. Good thing they're flexible and Lauren's home for spring break..."

"I already called. They're waiting for Brett to arrive. Called the Feds, too. They are on their way and will be taking over the large conference room on 2. And I've moved some men around to give them accommodations on 4."

I disconnected and turned to Steph. "Did you catch any of that?"

"I think we're leaving for the airport?"

"Correct. Pack a few things and if you forget something we can pick it up when we get to St. John. Tank is going to meet us in the garage in ten."

I felt bad rushing my family out of the country but they knew if they wanted to continue having a relationship with me that they might have to do this at any given moment. We'd talked about the alternative and they were having none of it. They wanted _all_ their children in their lives. I had yet to have a similar conversation with Steph but I didn't even want to think about an alternative where she was concerned. And these scenarios were rare. In fact, my family had only been displaced once before-during the Vlatko polonium mess.

I knew I needed to call Rachel to let her know that I wouldn't be the one picking up Julie. That role would now fall to Tank. I didn't think that this would sit well with her and probably would be a deal breaker so I decided to wait it out until later in the week. If we could get Petryaev before Friday I'd still be on schedule to personally bring my daughter to St. John. And in fact, if we got him within a few days we could _all_ be back in Trenton. Although I suspected, with a third change of plans, I'd lose the ability to spend time with Julie at all. This wasn't a court-sanctioned visit, just good will on Rachel's part.

We packed quickly and met Tank in the garage. The nod I gave him said words I couldn't at the moment. _Thank you, man. Thanks for everything._ Truth is, I really didn't need to be leaving Trenton. I wasn't afraid of Petryaev and if circumstances were different I'd stay to help the Feds find him. But I _was_ afraid of things he was capable of doing to Steph and Julie if he learned of their existence. And a search in Newark for the name Mañoso would definitely bring up my parents and Lauren. As immediate targets, it was imperative that they got out of the country and remained safe. I also wanted to show Steph a more compassionate side of me — the one that puts her first. So that's why we are currently driving to the airport for a change of scenery.

Three hours and thirty-one minutes later we were coming to a stop at the end of a runway and a passenger stairway was moving into position next to us. When the cabin door opened the air was hot and humid and smelled of sand and surf. It reminded me of Miami…and of Julie. We'd only gotten to know each other recently but the bond was a good one. I'd do what I could from this end to find and take down Petryaev before Friday so I could fly up to Miami myself. And I was looking forward to the father/daughter time a two hour flight would allow us.

Hector had been feeding me Petryaev's whereabouts during the flight. And as we expected, he'd arrived in Trenton about an hour and a half ago. The good news was that no one spoke Russian on Stark Street and his English was poor at best.

I had made arrangements for a car to pick us up at the St. Thomas Cyril E King airport and drive us to the water taxi which would take us to St. John. I also had a car waiting on the other side to bring us to Coral Bay where the house was located. Although our flight was slightly early, we didn't have to wait long for the limo. I'd noticed it pulling up to the tarmac as we deplaned. Steph and Lauren seemed to be deep in a conversation about donuts vs. buñuelos with Lauren promising to bring Steph some from a place near her school. I have always been astounded that Steph could have serious conversations about _donuts_ and that people were willing to listen to her _and_ reciprocate. My sister the vegetarian, almost vegan, was a case in point.

I didn't want to interrupt this most peculiar conversation but I wanted to let them know our limo was here and to get their bags. I was about to tap Lauren on the shoulder when my father showed me that he already had Lauren's bag, as well as his own. So I just grabbed Steph's. They'd realize soon enough that they were the only ones still on the plane. If this were two of my men, instead of my sister and fiancé, they would be finding their own transportation to the house.

I guess someone finally realized they were the last ones on board because while we were pouring into the limo, I saw the two of them rush down the stairs looking perplexed. It was not until I pointed to Steph's bag stashed in the trunk with Lauren's next to it, did those wild-eyed looks calm down.

"I thought I left my bag at Newark," Steph remarked. "Well, I _knew_ I brought mine onboard but I couldn't figure out what happened to it," Lauren countered as they entered the limo from opposite sides. If they weren't so upset I would have laughed out loud. This is what can happen when you have your mind on other things.

Forty-five minutes later we were pulling up to the gates. I had used my fob to open them to give our driver access to the winding dirt pathway that leads up to the front of the house. The jasmine were in bloom so the place was filled with its warm scent and the vibrant reds and yellows of the hibiscus hedge made the property feel inviting.

"This is your _house_?" Lauren and Steph seemed to ask simultaneously. "This place is huge," Steph muttered on top of that, probably wondering if I had a house- and groundskeeper to take care of it.

I did. And John and Magdalena were standing on the front porch ready to welcome us.


	14. Chapter 14

_Thank you so much for all the reviews. Although I've been really bad about replying lately, please know that I read and cherish them all. Thank you!_

 **Chapter 14**

 _ **Lula's POV**_

"Tankie, do you know where Steph is? I've been trying to call her all day," I asked him as soon as he picked up his phone.

"You know she's still not cleared for bounty hunting and look what happened the last time you tried to con her into helping you…"

"I didn't _con_ her, I just wanted her to watch my car while Les and I went after an FTA. I can't help it if she got bad car karma. And speaking of cars, that's why I wanted to talk to her. My new car just arrived. Lester and I are picking it up in Port Newark tonight. I wanted to know if she'd be interested in coming along."

"I can't go into detail, but I can tell you that Steph and Ranger are out of the country for a few days…"

"Did they elope?"

"Not to my knowledge. How about I accompany you? I'm off at 6. We can give Lester the night off."

"But I think he's got all the paper work. The bill of lading…or whatever he told me it was called. I think we need that to prove it's my car?"

"I'll get it from him. Do you want to meet me here? Or should I pick you up at your apartment?"

"Well if Lester gotta give you the paperwork and he's my wheels this week, I guess I'm coming to Rangeman. Good. And then you can give me that tour you been promising me."

"Ok. See you in about an hour. Come to my office."

"I think Tankie just agreed to a tour of Rangeman," I told Connie and Lester once we hung up. "I heard all about monitor duty, but I ain't never seen it first hand. Do you know whose being punished this week?"

"It's regular rotations tonight. I think it's Manny and Hal…"

"Two of my favorites. Oh boy this is gonna be fun…"

"Lula, you can't interrupt them. Being on the monitors is serious stuff. They have to concentrate. Tank and I can point out the command center to you but you have to leave them alone…"

"Damn boy, you take all my fun away."

"I found you the car didn't I? A candy apple red 2017 Pontiac Trans Am. Original castings, modern most everything else…"

"Ok smart ass, so you knew where to find me a car."

"It's not just _any_ car. It's a 2017 _Outlaw Edition_ Trans Am with an Alpha Platform. Standard equipment includes a 6.2 liter LT1 direct injection with a 2.3 liter Magnuson Supercharger. It's been rated with 602 horsepower and 625 pounds of torque. It also comes with retro bucket seats and you ordered the old-school gauge package. You got the Snowflake wheels and Goodyear Eagle F1 tires…"

"Good thing I ain't going out with you. You're a huge pain in the ass…"

"You love my ass, Lula…."

"I love Tankie's better…"

"Ladies, please," Connie yelped with her hands over her ears. "I don't want to hear anymore. Uh, oh, and speaking of asses, here comes Morelli's."

I looked up and over to the front door and sure enough Officer Hottie was approaching. Bet he was looking for Steph, too. I reached over and opened the door for him, "To what do we owe this honor?"

"Lula, Connie. Santos. How is everyone today?"

"We're good," I told him, knowing he wasn't here for small talk. "What's up?"

"Any idea where Steph is? She isn't answering her phone."

"Tank just told me that her and Ranger are away for a couple a days. Of course, my mind went to a quick wedding in Vegas but Tankie told me, 'no'. He said they're out of the country."

"Ok, that agrees with what I've heard. Santos, you know anything about the Feds staying at Rangeman?"

"I may or I may not. It depends on how politely you ask me."

"Stop being a pain in the ass. Just answer me…"

"Sees, I just told you that you're a pain in the ass, too," I said to Lester. "He's got verbal diarrhea," I told everyone.

"Lula, please. I'd just like to gets some things collaborated. It seems we're all after the same man."

"Fugitive from Russia? Someone with a vengeance against Ranger? Yeah, I think we're all looking for him. Feds have been given a conference room and accommodations at Rangeman. Been there since last night. Our man Hector tracked Petryaev from Newark. He was on Stark Street around 11:30 but no one there speaks Russian. Hector thinks he's looking for a translator so we have men on the lookout in Millburn and Fair Lawn. Is that the collaboration you're looking for?"

"That's it. Thanks, man. And oh, is Rangeman _sanctioned_ for this?"

"We're working with the Feds."

He nodded, turned around and left. Of course I had to admire his ass on his way out the door. "And Stephanie gave _that_ up, why?" I said to no one in particular.

"Because he left her alone for 3 days with a broken leg and crutches that she couldn't get around on. He _abandoned_ her, Lula," Lester told me.

"I wasn't askin' 'why' about anything but the _ass_."

"And that's why she left him. He's an ass."

I knew what he was sayin'. Grown men shouldn't act like that. Especially when they's supposed to be in a relationship. My Tankie would _never_ do that to me. And I know Ranger wouldn't do it to Steph either. It's about respect.

"Sorry, just admiring."

"Not worth it."

"Yeah, I know."

"Are you children done?" Connie asked. "I have a business to run here and I just gave you three files…"

"Since when did you start soundin' like Vinnie? We gotta do some research first. These felons don't just appear like magic. Lester, can we use those Rangeman programs again? They tell me more shit than Connie's."

"I know. They're pretty invasive. But I understand you've got a date with a car tonight. Wanna start in the morning? You can drive. Pick me up around 8:30?"

"Yeah, that sounds good. Should we start making our way to Rangeman sos I can see Hal and Manny sweat as they watch all those monitors?"

"You won't _see_ them sweat. That room is kept super cold. Helps them stay alert. A few of us even bring heaters in there with us, but I think Hal and Manny like it that way. Let's get going."

It was only a short drive to Rangeman from the Bonds office and Lester fobbed us through the gates and parked in a numbered spot.

"I'm gonna go see Hector on 2. You know where Tank's office is, right?" Lester told me, probably breaking some rules by letting me wander around unsupervised.

"Yeah, he's on 5. Make a right off the elevator, he's next to Ranger's office."

"You got it," he said opening the stairwell door and taking the stairs two at a time.

The elevator stopped on 2 and Bobby Brown and scary-as-hell Hector got on. The fifth floor was already pressed but I noticed Bobby fob the panel and hit 7. Alls that was up there was Ranger and Steph's apartment and access to the roof, Steph tole me one time.

"They're out of town," I told Bobby. "And Lester just went looking for you, Hector."

"Gracias, bonita," he told me with a big smile. "He'll _eventually_ figure out where we are," he added in accented English.

"You got any leads on the Russian guy?" I asked, making conversation.

Suddenly Bobby was in my face. "What do you know about that?"

"Morelli came into the Bond's office trying to get collaboration on shit from Lester and I was standing right there. Didn't seem like a big secret to me."

Bobby pulled his phone out of his pocket. "Santos," he said, and not very nicely, just as the doors opened on 5. I had a feeling Lester was going to be in deep shit.

I tried to listen as the doors closed behind me but I couldn't hear anything. I really hoped I didn't get Lester in trouble. He may be a pain in the ass a good part of the time but I liked him. I'd call him later with pictures of my car and apologize. It really didn't seem like something that was being kept secret. Morelli's was asking questions in front of all of us. I tried to shrug it off as I walked down the corridor to Tank's office.

"Hi Lula, looking good," Cal told me as I passed him in the hall.

"Thanks Cal, you too. He in?"

"Yep. I think he's waiting for you. Hear you're picking up your new car tonight. I'd love to go for a ride sometime. That's quite a machine you're getting."

"Sure thing. I'm picking up Santos tomorrow morning at 8:30 if you want to go for a quick buzz."

"No can do. My shift starts at 8. But thanks."

"Lula? Is that you?" Tank's voice echoed through the hallway.

"Yeah, I'm here. Just talking to Cal. Be right there."

"You better go, he doesn't like to be kept waiting," Cal said stepping away.

"Don't I know it," I told him as we parted.

"Ok Big Guy, where you hiding?" I said continuing down the corridor towards his office.

He was sitting behind his desk grinning from ear to ear when I approached.

"Come on in baby and close the door."

Ooo. Ooo. That was his affectionate voice so I did as I was told. I closed the door and approached his big desk.

"Come over here. I've been waiting for you."

"I know you have. I tole you I was coming," I answered warily as I made my way around his desk to greet him hello.

He snatched me out of nowhere and pulled me close to him; an' before I knew what was happenin' his lips came down on mine.

"You want to know what I got planned for later?" he asked breaking from the kiss.

"Well if that was the appetizer, I got a good idea."

"Just making sure we're on the same page."

"Damn skippy, we are. Now are you gonna show me around this place or do I have to go back out and find Cal again?"

Tank had his massive arm around me as he took me around to say hello to anyone who was at their desk…AND to point out the control room. If people didn't know we were together before, they certainly did now. And it seemed we were both ok with it.

It was a little scary to me that _everyone_ knew about my new car, and I mean _everyone_. Then I remembered that Steph said that her Rangeguys were worse gossips than her mother and grandmother put together. And let me tell you, you gotta be pretty bad to be worse than them. I could only guess that Lester told them, in that braggin' way of his, since he was the one who knew where to get me the car. It couldn't have been my Tankie, now could it? Only one way to find out.

"How does everyone know?"

"I guess I might have let something slip…"

"But I don't even know some of these guys?"

"That's ok, they know you."

Oh boy.

"I think we should get going; it's an hours drive to Port Newark from here. Erik is going to take us since I want to drive home with you."

"For a minute I forgot that if you took me, we'd both have to get back by ourselves. Thank you and thank Erik."

"Don't be so anxious to thank him. _This_ is in place of monitor duty and Erik knows what he did."

"You mean I coulda seen him sweat the monitors but you chose _driving_ for him instead?"

"Yep. There's more than one kind of punishment around here. And either of those two things are preferable to mat time with me."

"You wouldn't _hurt_ that skinny kid, now would you?"

"It's all relative, baby. He's supposed to keep up his martial arts training. And you know as well as I do, that even a less built man like Erik should be able to throw a big guy like me if he practices."

"And if he don't?"

"Then he gets his ass whipped."

"Ah, now I see why he _volunteered_ to drive us. He ain't been doing what he's supposed to."

"Among other things."

"You feel like sharing?"

"Let's just say he's got a big mouth."

"Bigger than Lester's?"

"This time, yeah."

Now what was that supposed to mean? Like, I really love Tankie and all that but he just doesn't let me in on anything. Like I'm really gonna tell people what Erik said? Well, if it was juicy enough, I might. But I'd only tell Steph and Connie and maybe Lester, seeing that they know who Erik is.

So while I was thinking all this to myself Tankie somehow led me downstairs to the garage and had opened the backdoor on one of them bad ass Expeditions they have sitting around. Not that I'd ever get one but they were big enough to live in, sos I could understand why Tank went for it. He likes being comfortable.

We were alone in the back while Erik drove and Tank kept playing with the fingers on my left hand as we negotiated the traffic on 95. It was almost like he was measuring. I may be a big girl but I do got dainty fingers, if indeed that's what he was doing. Maybe I should let it slip that I'm a size 6? No, I played tricks on him before and it damaged things between us. This time around I was going to let nature take its course.


	15. Chapter 15

_Thank you so much for all the reviews! I know I've been really bad about replying lately but please know that I read and love them all. Thank you! A little more Tank and Lula this chapter then on to Petryaev._

 **Chapter 15**

 _ **Tank's POV**_

I was playing with Lula's fingers as Erik drove us to Port Newark. The article I read said to use a piece of string or paper to measure for a ring size but that was too obvious. I had good muscle memory in my hands and I knew I could approximate her size pretty closely. The salesman at Tiffany's also assured me that I could return it for a larger or smaller one. Or, although not a recommended option since the ring would have a weak spot, the band _could_ be re-sized. But, if Lula truly loved something that was one-of-kind and didn't fit, we'd look into that anyway.

I already had the place in mind where I'd like to propose to her. Unfortunately it was at Ranger's house on St. John and between his family, Steph and the Rangemen guards it was probably getting a little crowded there. I kind of hoped that after we got Petryaev we could have the place to ourselves. I'd texted Ranger earlier in the day to see if that was an option and I'd yet to hear from him. I had a feeling Stephanie was keeping him busy, if you know what I mean.

"I see container ships, Tankie. I think we're almost there," Lula called out breaking me from my spell.

I looked up in wonder, since it seemed like we'd only been driving for about 20 minutes. Sure enough, we were arriving at Port Newark. Lula had distracted me again.

Lester gave us specific instructions to go to a warehouse located at the intersection of Calcutta and Tylor where our merchandise was being stored as it had arrived earlier in the day and the ship was long gone. I really hoped the car had already been uncreated and was ready for us, since I had plans for the evening that didn't include waiting around for a few extra hours.

"I see it, Tankie! Look!"

Lula was like a kid in a candy store but she was right, we could clearly see the car through the doors of the warehouse. And it had been uncrated, thankfully.

We got out of the car and walked over. Well, Lula _ran_ in the 4" heels of her peep toe booties she claimed to be Via Spigas.

"My baby. My baby," she said as she got close. The workers were looking at her strangely and I apologized to each one I passed. "It's a replacement car that she didn't think was possible."

"Vintage?" someone asked.

"No. 2017 off of original casts."

He blew out a whistle. "Musta cost a pretty penny."

"Insurance paid for it."

"Musta had a good policy."

Well, since I put her on Rangeman's last year, yeah. "The best," I told him catching up to my woman who had already opened the driver's door and was adjusting the seat and mirrors to her liking.

I had the paperwork in my pocket and was looking around for someone to show it to so we could get in the car and get the hell out of there.

"Tallulah Banks?" someone asked, stepping out of the shadows and up to me.

"No. Pierre Sherman, that's Tallulah," I told him pointing to Lula. No one has ever mistaken me for a woman before but I guessed to someone who'd never heard the name, it _could_ be taken as masculine.

"I'll need some ID and the bill of lading," he told me not bothering to apologize for his mistake.

"Lula, baby. Come over here and bring your ID," I called out. I'd already told him I wasn't her.

"Oh, this car is so nice, Tank. Come on over and sit down."

"Let's get all the paperwork handled first. Come on out with your ID so we can get out of here."

"Ok, but you gotta feel these seats. I think they're real leather."

"I'm pretty sure your old car had leather seats, too. Just a different _kind_ of leather."

"Well this kind is mighty nice," she said patting it down one more time, grabbing her purse and coming over to where I was standing with the warehouse manager.

"Tallulah Banks, nice to meet you," she said turning to the guy with the clipboard, her hand extended. "My boyfriend Tank here has all the paperwork in his pocket."

"The car is in your name; I'll need some ID."

"Okie dokie Smokie," she told him rummaging around in her purse to find her wallet. I only hoped he didn't notice the gun that was shoved out of the way a number of times while she searched. At least we took care of getting her a concealed carry permit and the gun was legal in case it came up.

"What kinda ID do you want? I got my drivers license, my gun permit, my concealed carry permit, my…"

Gotta love my Lula.

"Drivers license will do."

"Here you go," she said, moving the gun to the side one more time to produce her wallet.

"Mind if I ask what you do for a living?" he asked her nodding to the gun.

"I'm a licensed Bond Enforcement Agent who's going for her P.I. license. Here, let me give you my card since I got my wallet open. You never know when you might need someone like me. I don't do domestic disputes though so if you're suspecting your wife of some hanky panky don't be callin' on me."

"I'm not married but good to know."

It was true. Lula _was_ going to school again. Although not mandated by the State of New Jersey, she was taking criminal justice classes at Thomas Edison State. Five years of bounty hunting experience, fingerprints and 5 references were all she needed, in addition to the $3,000 Surety Bond, but my Lula wanted to make extra sure she'd be granted the ticket by working on her criminal justice degree. I was quite proud of her.

The man with the clipboard jotted down her license number, then returned it to her.

"Enjoy your car, Ms. Banks, the keys are behind the visor." And turning to me he added, "I'm told you have the bill of lading?"

"I do," I said, producing it and handing it over.

"Thanks. This matches," he told me scanning his part of the paperwork as Lula took off back to her car.

"Good luck with the car and with that woman of yours. She seems like a handful."

She most certainly was, but I'd have it no other way.

We were back on 95 heading west to Trenton when my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out and looked at the caller ID. Ranger.

"Yo."

"Saw your text and I'm good with you staying here for a few days but why not come now? Hal, Cal and Ramon can take care of Petryaev and there's plenty of room. My mother's been cooking up a storm so there's plenty of food, too. It's probably better that whoever we have going after that Russian assassin is unknown to him. Your face is too familiar and I don't have the same doubts that you do that you're not on his radar, too. And, with you here, if we don't have Petryaev by Thursday, I won't feel so bad taking a quick flight to Florida to get Julie."

"Do you think that's wise? All he needs to do is a little research and he'll come up with your ties to Miami."

"He not going to be camped out at Miami International. And even if he is, I never fly into that airport…"

"I know," I interrupted him. "You only fly corporate and directly into Kendall-Tamiami. He might be able to get that info, too."

"Doubt it. He's not looking for Marc Pardo, Antonio Mendes or Mohammad Hamas."

"And you know that for certain because…?"

"Ok. Point taken. Well get Petryaev before Friday and all this will become a non-issue. Are you and Lula coming here?"

"I'll ask her. Her summer classes don't start for another 2 weeks…"

"You'll ask me what?" Lula questioned as she drove.

Might as well get it over with now.

"Do you want to go to St. John? Ranger thinks it's as dangerous for me here as it is for him. He thinks we should get out of the country and let Rangeman handle Petryaev."

"Sure. I'm always up for a little adventure. And I read that the snorkeling is mighty fine there, too. We could get us some snorkels and flippers..."

"Hmm hmm," I mumbled to Lula before turning my attention back to the phone in my hand.

"Did you catch that?"

"I did. Take NetJets and we'll see you here sometime tomorrow."

"Ok, _boss_ ," I stated before hanging up. I know he doesn't mean it but he can't help himself.

Well now I'd just committed to St. John with Ranger's family and asking Lula to marry me. That could make for some very strange possibilities. Better to not think too much about it. And I'd need to pick up that ring tonight or first thing when the store opens. Suddenly I had an idea that could very well work out for me.

"Lula, baby, are you interested in having dinner in Philly?"

While I'm not a big fan of chain restaurants, Morton's Steak House was right next door to Tiffany's and according to Yelp! it had a 4-star rating. I could run in while Lula was in the powder room. They already had my ring choices and credit card information in their database. All they needed was a size. I put my thumb and forefinger together, remembering Lula's hand, trying to get the muscle memory to cooperate.

"Sure, Tank. You got something in mind?"

"How about Morton's? I've been craving a steak all day."

"You don't usually like those kinda places. Why Morton's?"

"Because they're about one thing and one thing only. Steak. And I just looked it up. The one in Philly got a 4-star rating."

I guessed I really could bullshit when I had to. If she only knew the real reason.

"Ok. Let's do it. Good thing I got dressed nice today. Wouldn't wanna be going into an establishment like that looking like I got up on the wrong side of the bed."

That would take a lot. Lula really is a natural beauty.


	16. Chapter 16

_Once again, thank you so much for all the reviews and kind words. Before we get to the good stuff happening on St. John, I wanted to bring everyone up to speed on what was still going on in New Jersey (with a little Philly thrown in, too)._

 **Chapter 16**

 _ **Oleg Petryaev's POV**_ _(Translated from Russian)_

Pусский? (Russky?) That was the single word I needed to get the info I was looking for. And it took me all of 20 minutes. I was told that there were 2 large Russian communities in New Jersey: one in Millburn and the other in Fair Lawn, which was quite a few less than I had expected. And that I'd be able to find a translator in one or both of them. So, once I found someone I could trust, I'd be back. Newark wasn't exactly a bust, since there were Mañosos in the phone book, but Trenton seems to be the place both the Mañoso _I'm looking for_ and Sherman work and reside these days.

Did they think I was an idiot? Of course, as soon as I was recovered enough from the wounds and disfigurement they bestowed upon me, I'd show up. It only took 3 years. In Russia we take our revenge seriously. An eye for an eye or in my case a spleen for a spleen. I'll cut Mañoso open like a Dobroflot sardine can. And Sherman can watch before I behead him. They left me for dead, but good Russian убийцы (assassins) don't die easy. We plot our revenge while we heal. Придурки. (Assholes.)

 _ **Hector's POV**_ _(Translated from Spanish)_

We had men we could trust with their ears to the ground in both the Russian communities of Fair Lawn and Millburn. If Petryaev showed up in either place, we'd know. I'd personally tracked him from Newark to Trenton, where I learned he'd inquired about a Russian translator. The bangers on Stark don't speak a word of Russian but US dollars talk and the word Russky is universal. Sotomayo sent him to Fair Lawn and Toto (like the dog) mentioned Millburn. He'd have to choose one and my bet was on the former. So I wasn't too surprised when I got a call about 20-minutes ago that Petryaev had hooked up with a Russian/English/Spanish translator there. It was pure luck that he spoke Spanish too because most of my contacts on Stark would never let on that they knew English. This was going to be good.

I just placed a call to Tank to let him know but it went directly to voicemail. Unusual. Although, I heard he was going with Lula to pick up her new car. Maybe he took himself offline for that? It didn't really matter since Bobby and Lester shared 3rd tier, so I scrolled down my contact list to the first one that popped up. Bobby.

"Brown. It's Hector," I switched my brain to English for the call. "Tank seems to be offline and Petryaev's reappeared on my radar. He's got himself a Russian/English/Spanish translator so I'm assuming he's on his way back to Trenton to get some information on Ranger."

"Tank and Lula are on their way to Ranger's compound on St. John. I gather Ranger finally convinced him that he was on Petryaev's shit list, too. I'm at Rangeman and Lester is on the street with Hal. Cal and Ramon should be in the area, too. I'll notify them to camp out around Stark. Maybe we can get to him before he knows what hit him. Any info on the translator?"

"Russian mob. Big guy. We can't let our guard down."

"As if we would. Wanna be in on it?"

"Hell, yeah. I suddenly feel like intimidating a few assholes. I can be there in about 5. Maybe I can convince Sotomayo to let me have his corner for the evening. My fingers are itching already."

"Don't do anything stupid and wear the earpiece so you'll know when our guys are in the area."

"You know me better than that. No earpieces; they're detectable. If we're doing a distraction job I might wear one to keep Estefania safe, but that's as far as I'll go…"

"Ok. Ok. Just thought I'd try."

"I'll be in touch."

He was as big of a pain in the ass as Tank. I leaned at an early age how to detect a wire. People wearing them got skittish and acted strangely. And an earpiece? Fffft. Even the most undetectable was detectable. People on Stark knew me and knew I worked with Ranger but it wasn't them I was worried about. I was pretty sure the Russian mob had the same street sense that I did. They'd know a mile away if I had any of that shit on.

 _ **Tank's POV**_

Thanks to Lula's 600 horsepower and defensive driving skills we made good time getting to Philly. Dilemma though. I had my salesman's phone number in my contact list but I couldn't call him without her overhearing. And since I didn't think this number was his cell, I couldn't text him. I'd have to hope that Lula did what she always does after a long drive—have to use the ladies room. I only needed a few minutes to be able to show Abe the size and pick up the ring. Hopefully.

As luck would have it, Lula got a spot right in front and it was after 6 so we didn't even need to pay for parking.

"Tankie, is it ok if I run on ahead? I _really_ have to use the ladies room."

"Of course, baby. Take your time." Thank you, God.

"Thank you," she said, kissing me while juggling from foot to foot. Yep, Lula really had to go.

I took full advantage of the opportunity. While Lula ran to the ladies room, I ran into Tiffany's. Thankfully my salesman wasn't with another customer and came over as soon as he saw me enter.

"Mr. Sherman. Nice to see you again," he greeted me, shaking my hand. "I take it you found out the ring size."

I put my thumb and forefinger together and nodded. "This is her size," I said with my fingers still forming the 'O' I'd memorized.

"Let me get the sizer. Hold on," he answered, leaving me afraid to uncouple my fingers in case I'd lose the circumference.

He came back with a devise that looked like it belonged to one of those plastic stacking games that children play with. You know, put the colored rings in size places on a spindle? Well this spindle was considerable thinner, but same principle.

We brought my still clenched fingers over to the device and he read out a number when I stopped sliding into place.

"It looks like your girlfriend is a size 6. That's the most common ring size so anything in the store should be available in that size."

"Thank God. What about that ring I initially inquired about? You showed me one with a 2 1/2 carat stone. It was surrounded by other smaller stones. I think you said it was a cushion cut?"

"Ah yes. The Tiffany Legacy. Our classic cushion-cut Tiffany diamond, surrounded by smaller bead-set diamonds. A ring that evokes the glamour of the Edwardian period. Beautiful setting."

"Yes. That's it. Um, I was hoping to be able to take one with me tonight. I'm going to ask Lula to marry me tomorrow while we're out of the country."

"I believe we still have that one I showed you. And if memory serves me well, it _was_ a size 6. Would you like me to get it for you?"

"Yes, and if you could please hurry. Lula is right next door and doesn't know I snuck out. You have all my credit card info and I know you did a credit check. So we should be good to go."

"Yes Mr. Sherman. I'm sorry, but it's our policy to run a credit check on all of our serious buyers. You gave me your information the last time you were in…"

"I'm not upset. Glad I passed…"

"Passed? Mr. Sherman, you _surpassed_. There's no limitations on your purchases. Tiffany's very much enjoys doing business with people of your stature."

"My stature?" I asked, rising to my full height of 6'6", then grinning down at him. I knew what he meant, but I couldn't help playing with him and using an intimidation factor. Good thing he knew what I did for a living and that we'd already bonded.

"I'll be right back. I just need to go into the vault. Are you sure you don't want me to bring out anything else while I'm there?"

"No. That was the first one that caught my eye. I know Lula will love it."

"Ok. I'll be right back with it."

And none too soon. I wasn't sure how much longer she'd take in the ladies room but we were going on 10 minutes here. I suspected she needed to adjust her hair and fix her makeup so I mentally calculated another 5 at the most. While Abe was in the vault I took the opportunity to call Morton's. Thankfully Lula was still in the rest room and a table was being set for us in the back with the menus and water already in place. If she came out before I got there, the Maître d' was going to tell her that I just stepped away to take a call and lead her to our table.

I was starting to get nervous as my 5-minute window was quickly slipping away when Abe came out with the ring on a black velvet tray and a blue box in his other hand. Thank God.

"I wanted to shine it up for you since this was our store model. I looked at it closely and there were no scratches to polish out, so after I hand it to you for your final inspection, you're good to go," he told me, handing me the ring.

"It looks beautiful, do you have a ring box?"

"It's right here inside our classic blue one," he told me, showing me the black velvet case inside the box. Just what I was hoping for. I wanted Lula to have a nice place to put it if she took it off her finger for any reason. Although I suspected once it was on it wouldn't come off until our wedding day. And maybe not even then. Lula was inventive if nothing else.

While I was daydreaming about our wedding day, Abe had put the ring into the velvet box; that box into a blue box and both boxes into a minuscule blue shopping bag. He handed it to me and wished me luck.

"Thanks man. I'll let you know how it goes," I told him, fully meaning it. Abe was a good guy.

I slid the little bag into the inner compartment of my windbreaker, said goodbye and slipped out of the store.

I actually made it to the Maître d's station before Lula came out of the restroom. I introduced myself and headed back to the table that had already been set up for us. He promised to take her back to me when, _or if_ , she appeared. I knew my Lula wouldn't sneak out, she just wanted to make herself more beautiful.

Another 5-minutes passed before I heard her making her way back.

"Sorry I kept you waiting so long, Tankie. I had to help another woman tie up her hair. It's shameful that these restrooms don't have more mirrors. How we supposed to see if we look ok from all angles?"

I thanked God everyday that I was born a man. I knew I wouldn't have the patience to fix my hair and put on makeup. Hell, that was one of the reasons I liked my head _clean_. Nothing to fuss over. But that also made me look a my Lula anew. She was such a giver. Who else would help a complete stranger fix their hair? I suddenly felt more pride for her.

"That's ok, baby. If it was important for you to help, it was important for me to wait." Little did she have to know that I was busy, too.


	17. Chapter 17

_Thank you for all the reviews and for still following this story. I know I've been really remiss with posting and also with sending individual PM replies but I want you to know I read and cherish each and every one. I'm so sorry for all the delays but real life has just been kicking my butt with one thing after another. Thank you so much for your patience._

 **Chapter 17**

 _ **Ranger's POV**_

I'd let Steph and my family know that Tank and Lula would be staying at the house with us. It was certainly big enough for everyone and I suspected that Steph was missing her friend; although she seemed to have formed a strong bond with my mother and Lauren.

"So when are they arriving?" Steph asked, appearing nervous about something when we met outside the house as I was coming back from my run.

"I thought you would want to see Lula?"

"Well, I do…but…"

"But what, Babe? Did you two have a falling out over something that I'm not aware of?"

"No, nothing like that…"

"Talk to me Steph. I don't bite."

"It's stupid."

"Nothing is stupid," I told her, wrapping my arms around her so she'd know there is nothing in the world I care more about then her. "You can talk to me about whatever it is that you're feeling."

"Ok…it's Tank."

"Tank?" The man hardly spoke, I could only wonder what he said to her that could make her upset. "Did he say something hurtful?"

"No. You know Tank, he hardly even talks."

"Well then what is it?" This was like pulling teeth.

"Um. Forget it. It's nothing."

"It's not nothing or you wouldn't be getting upset. Please talk to me, Steph." I hoped 'please' would do the trick since this conversation seemed to be going nowhere fast.

"Ok, but don't say I didn't warn you."

What the fuck? "Go on."

"Well you know how you two are like brothers?"

I nodded 'yes' to get her to continue.

"Well sometimes I feel like I'm…I don't know…maybe not as important as he is. No. Important isn't the right word. Um, that I'm not, um…maybe that you'd rather talk to him than to me."

"Steph, you just said yourself that Tank is a man of few words…"

"Yes but you take those words _seriously_ …"

"I _always_ take you seriously."

"I told you this was stupid."

I hated to put words in her mouth but this conversation was progressing like a slow shit. "So you think that if Tank and Lula were here I'd be spending most of my time with Tank. And then where would that leave you?"

"How come you were able to say that so easily and I could barely get it out?"

"I'd like to think I've learned how to interpret you. And if this is what you're feeling, you're wrong. Yes, Tank and I have good working and interpersonal relationships but I'd rather spend my time with you. And he certainly doesn't look as good in a bikini."

I got a jab to my ribs for that last comment.

"Are you sure?" she asked, biting on her lower lip.

"I'm positive. You'll _always_ come first," I told her again, as direct as I could, pulling her in tight and kissing her lips for punctuation.

"So then, back to my first question. When are they arriving?"

"Today. They should be here around 3:00."

"You don't waste any time, do you? Well, Magdalena, your mother and I ought to get busy then. We'll have extras for dinner."

"You're going to help?"

"I helped last night."

"You did?" I couldn't remember seeing her in the kitchen. She was on the beach with me for most of the day.

"Yep. I scan through the cook books for things that I like. I point them out to your mom and Magdalena and next thing I know we were eating some mighty tasty dishes. Your mom and Magdalena are good in the kitchen. Almost as good as Ella."

Of course they were. But I didn't want to point out to Steph that, like Ella, they'd been trained to reduce the sugar and fat in a recipe, substitutes whole grains and only use natural ingredients. Otherwise they'd be cooking for one; Steph.

My family adopted a healthy approach to eating a long time ago when my father was first diagnosed with early stages of diabetes. So far he's been able to keep off meds with diet and exercise. But those words are foreign to Steph and her still overactive metabolism.

"So what are you making tonight then?"

"Well, Magdalena told us that her husband John, _and_ your father _and_ Brett _and_ Roscoe went out fishing early this morning. Whatever they come back with is on the menu. And if they come back empty-handed, Lauren and I will take the bicycles to town and pick up the catch-of-the-day."

"I'm glad you have this all figured out."

"Wouldn't have it any other way. And why didn't you know about the fishing trip? You're the only male that didn't go."

"I have priorities: you and the 8-mile run I'd promised myself last night."

"So how was it?"

"The run? It was perfect, just like you are. By the way, who's Roscoe?" I asked. He probably was a local fisherman but I'd never met him.

"John and Magdalena's dog. You've seen him lazing around."

"The skinny yellow one? I thought he was a stray."

"He used to be. Magdalena's trying to fatten him up. You should hang out in the kitchen more. You'd learn a lot."

Gossip and meaningless conversation held no interest for me but I was glad she enjoyed them. "Not a high priority, Babe."

"So what's _your_ high priority then?"

"I just told you. You."

She rolled her eyes and shook her head in disbelief. But I was being perfectly honest.

I asked Steph what she wanted to do today. I'd spend as much time with her as I could before Tank and Lula got here to prove my point.

"Maybe we could go into town and I could do a little souvenir shopping. I don't know when we'll get here again."

"This is our house, Babe. We can come here anytime you'd like but if you want to get souvenirs for your nieces, I think I know just the place to go. There's a shop in town that makes toys and games like they did back in the day—out of wood and coconut shells. I think you'll find it unique."

"So you don't know who Roscoe is but you know where to find toys? Never mind. I don't think I want to know the answer to that one. And do you want to come with me or should I ask Lauren?"

"I'll come with you. I just need a quick shower and some breakfast."

"While you shower I'll get Magdalena to put together your regular to go. Scooped out whole wheat bagel, toasted, with a light schmear of fat-free cream cheese and smoked salmon. Some cantaloupe pieces and black coffee on the side—not too caffeinated."

Smart ass. "Sounds about right."

"I'll see you in 10."

Make that 5," I told her, knowing I could shower in 3 and had shaved before my run. Boot camp showers were ingrained: you wash your hair, face, pits, bits and feet. In and out.

I combed my wet hair with a little goup to hold it back and was downstairs before my housekeeper had even finished toasting the bagel.

"I can finish this up," I told her, taking a knife out of the drawer and the cream cheese and salmon from the refrigerator.

"The cantaloupe is cut and coffee's in the Nespresso maker. You just need to turn it on. Can I expect you back for lunch?"

Steph and I hadn't spent much time alone together so I thought lunch in town might be a nice break from my relatives.

"I think we'll grab something out since Steph wanted to go shopping. But we'll be back before Tank and Lula get here. And if we don't, I'm sure you'll show them your St. John hospitality."

I dismissed her and pulled Steph into my arms while I pulled down the handle on the Nespresso machine to complete the coffee process.

"Did you eat already?" I asked her, thinking about sharing my bagel while I defrosted and toasted another if she hadn't.

"I had breakfast with your mother about an hour ago…but if you don't want that whole bagel…"

"I'll defrost another. Here, take half."

I took another one from the freezer, wrapped the individual halves in paper towels and zapped them for thirty seconds. I then scooped out the insides and put them into the oven to toast. So much for a quick breakfast on the go.

Once we'd eaten, cleaned up and put our dishes into the dishwasher we did finally head out. It was an 8-minute drive to Cruz Bay where most of the retail shops on the island were located. I parked the car on a side street and we took off by foot. There were a number of souvenir-type shops I thought Steph might be interested in visiting and I wanted to show her the hand-made toy and game store I'd discovered during one of my visits to town. The items were unique but durable and would make good gifts for her nieces.

"Look at this, Carlos," Steph called excitedly from one of the stalls on the main drag.

I followed her voice and came to find her happily holding up a tie-dyed wrap dress.

"It would look good on you," I told her and encouraged her to try it on. Dressing rooms are pretty much non-existent in the tiny stall shops here but Steph convinced the owner to let her use a shared bathroom for a quick change.

She came out to show me.

The dress fit her well and the deep blue towards the top made her eyes seem even bluer than usual. If she didn't take the dress I'd come back and buy it for her.

"You look beautiful, Babe."

"It's not too busy with these tie-dyed bursts?"

"It's very Caribbean. Makes you look like you belong here. I think you should get it," I told her leaving out the fact that opportunistic me thought it looked good with bare feet and would be easy to remove with just that simple tie at the waist.

"It would be good for the beach, I think."

I saw it mostly pooled on the floor of our bedroom but if Steph wanted to believe it would make a good cover up who was I to try to change her mind?

"Let's pay for it and get going," I told her instead, handing a twenty to the shopkeeper while Steph returned to the bathroom to change.

I knew this trip had the potential for a visit to every tourist trap in town before we even got to the store that I thought held the most promise for souvenirs. Her nieces didn't need snow globes with palm trees and the name of the island inside. Hell, it didn't even snow here, why would they make snow globes in the first place? But since I was the one who took us straight to the tourist stalls, my punishment was for Steph to stop into _every one_ and look at the same garbage over and over again. It was painful, but worth it to see her face light up every time she picked up something useless and shook it.

"Look Carlos…"

And of course I did. And I nodded, too. I was so out of my mind in love with her, I didn't even realize what I was doing until we headed back to the car with the dress and a number of bags of useless crap. And since we did stop in the store I suggested and bought the girls some wooden games, I envisioned Steph keeping the snow globes and glitter filled martini stirrers for herself.

"Where would you like to go for lunch, Babe?" I asked once we deposited the bags into the trunk and locked the car. There were some food trucks that parked along this stretch, some shacks and a few store-fronted restaurants. I could offer suggestions once I knew what she was in the mood for.

"How about something Caribbean?"

I hadn't personally been to any here but I remembered Santos' recommendation the last time he stayed at the house. "I know just the place," I told her half-realizing after I said it, that it _could_ be a topless bar. It wasn't. De' Coal Pot turned out to be a small, quaint restaurant with authentic fare _and_ a following. We had to wait for a table but it was worth it in the long run. Steph got to people watch while I wrote and answered email. And Hector had a bead on Petryaev.

"Looks like I'm going to be able to pick up Julie after all," I told her as we were finally being shown to a table in the back.

"Really? Cal or Hal found Oleg?"

"Hector. But yes, he knows where he is and is getting ready to approach him…"

"Alone?"

I certainly hoped not. "He promised to wait for Cal and Ramon. But with Hector we can't assume anything."

"Jeez. I guess you know that feeling well. Well, not really _know_ …more like you've worried about me going off on my own often enough. I hope he has the sense to wait. It could be dangerous."

I cocked an eyebrow at her.

Once we were seated, I could see out to the street towards the ferry terminal and was surprised to see Brett waiting in line for the ferry to St. Thomas. I looked at my watch. It was too early for him to be heading there for Tank and Lula's arrival. I guessed fishing was over for the day, he had a couple of errands to run and would wait for them when he was done. I was also surprised that Lauren wasn't with him. But who knows with my sister, she could be angry at him for going fishing in the first place. I let it slide and brought my attention back to the beautiful woman sitting across from me.


	18. Chapter 18

_When I started this story, I didn't know that St. John and St. Thomas were going to be devastated by hurricanes Irma and Maria. I have not changed my story to reflect this as I'd rather remember the islands for what they were. My heart goes out to all the people on these, the other Caribbean islands and Puerto Rico who have lost so much._

 _I'd also like to thank everyone who is reading and has reviewed my story. I appreciate and cherish every single one. Thank you so much. And sorry my updates have been so slow to appear, this has been a very trying year for me._

 **Chapter 18**

 _ **Brett's POV**_

Fishing was a bust since it was supposed to rain later in the day. We were told that fish can detect the drop in barometric pressure that precedes a storm and head out to deeper waters. Obviously that was true as we'd been out for over 3 hours before Ricardo caught the first fish; a 5 lb. yellowtail snapper. As soon as he reeled it in, John caught a second. Even together they weren't enough for dinner but the girls volunteered to bike into town to pick up more if we came back empty-handed. That was going to have to be the plan since we only had the boat for 4 hours and needed to head back now. It was disappointing, but we'd go out again with Tank, once he got here. Some some people rub a genie's bottle for luck, we've been known to rub Tank's bald head. The good news though was that the distraction of gutting and cleaning the fish gave me cover to slip away to St. Thomas undetected.

That made it sound like I was up to something…well, in a way I was. One of the things St. Thomas is known for are the deals you can get on quality jewelry and I was on a mission to buy a ring for Lauren. Yes… _that_ kind of a ring. We'd been seeing each other for over two years and I had planned to pop the question at her graduation. We were just a month shy of that and since this place had such a romantic vibe to it, I'd decided to up my game.

A while ago I'd pocketed the birthstone ring she sometimes wore and had Hector make a mold of it for me. I had that mold sized…she was a 4.5. Since I lived on premises at Rangeman I'd been able to save enough for possibly a 2-caret ring. I was hoping the deals here would get me closer to 3. And I was about to find out.

I boarded the 12:15 ferry and was in St. Thomas twenty minutes later. The jewelry exchange I was looking for was walkable from the terminal so I didn't need to take one of the _questionable_ taxis that were always waiting around.

Ajanta Jewelers was the place most of my searches led me to. They sold rings…but they specialized in loose stones. I'd be able to buy a stone directly from them and have it put into a nice setting for Lauren. If I struck out, my backup plan was to head to Kay's. Yep, the same Kay's we have back in the states.

I walked in and was immediately greeted with a handshake and warm welcome. I explained what I wanted and my salesman went into the vault to bring out a few options. I'd been looking at rings on women's fingers and also took my cue from Lauren's birthstone ring. It appeared to me that most women wore cushion cut diamonds, so that was what I had asked for. A 2.5 or higher, cushion cut diamond, of excellent quality and clarity. I had $100,000 to spend on the whole deal so I hoped to find an $80,000 stone. Surely a setting couldn't cost me more than 20 grand?

My salesman came back from his vault with 5 stones.

"If you don't like these, I have others. But I chose diamonds that represented your carat, clarity and quality asks the best. I also brought out a sample setting so you can get an idea of how they might look in a ring," he told me, setting his black velvet tray down in front of me.

An hour later I was back on the ferry, $98,000 less in my bank account but a beautiful 3 carat diamond in an exquisite platinum setting in my pocket.

I had already asked Ricardo for his daughter's hand and after a brief 'discussion' about her age and life experiences compared to mine (he really was clueless about his daughter's past) he gave me his consent. So when I called him from the ferry to ask his help in planning a picnic lunch out on a secluded part of the beach, he agreed.

He'd obviously told Gloria as she gave me a huge smile and pointed to a basket ready to go by the back door as I came in it.

Now all I had to do was to get Lauren to agree to that lunch date.

I found her outside with the mongrel that John and Magdalena had adopted. She'd already taught him to give her his paw on command and was now trying to get him to heel as he walked by her side. I would have thought it cute if I didn't have something more important on my mind.

"I see you're making progress with Roscoe. How would you like to leave him alone for a while and come have lunch with me?"

She gave me a puzzled look but scratched the dog behind his ears, released the leash from his collar and came over to where I was standing.

"So what do you have in mind? A trip into town?" she asked after giving me a short, but tender kiss.

"I was thinking picnic on the beach. No one is here and we can be alone in that alcove by the dunes," I told her hinting at a romantic interlude.

"Sure just let me get a bathing suit..."

"Not necessary," I told her, the intent behind those words most likely apparent in my eyes.

"And who says, Mr. Know-It-All?" she teased but I could tell the idea appealed to her.

"There's a picnic basket by the back door. Let me grab it and we can leave."

"So you planned this."

"Somewhat. I have no idea what Magdalena made us though. Could be PB&J sandwiches."

"Well if that's the case, you may end up wearing it. You know how I feel about peanut butter."

"Sassy. I like that in a woman," I told her, pulling her in for more than the quick kiss she gave me.

 _ **Ranger's POV**_

While we were waiting for our lunch to arrive, I pulled out my phone and called John. I was still thinking about Brett getting on the St. Thomas ferry. I would hate to learn that my long-time friend, employee and sister's boyfriend was up to something.

Although John seemed like your average handyman and caretaker, he was an ex-Navy Seal. His eyes were always open and assessing and not much got passed him.

"He asked Magdalena to prepare a picnic lunch for _two_ today," he told me after I made my inquiry. "I think he went to St. Thomas to go _shopping_. I think your sister will be sporting a multi-carat blinger at dinner tonight. That's what I think."

"You sure?"

"Not 100% but by the way those two look at each other there's a strong possibility. He hasn't told me anything outright though. Magdalena may know more. Want me to ask?"

"Let it be. I guess we'll find out one way or another later."

Steph was looking at me strangely, trying to decipher the conversation through my one-sided banter.

I hung up with John and relayed what he'd told me.

"You mean your sister's getting engaged, _too_?"

"Too?" There was no way she could know about Tank and Lula.

"Well, like us."

"Babe, we've been engaged for a while. We're not just in the planning stages."

"Yeah, but you know what I mean."

Actually, I did. Steph was still in denial that an engagement would eventually lead to a wedding. And if we didn't get off this island pretty soon, I could see Lauren and Lula planning a triple one.

Wondered how Hector was making out with Petryaev?

 _ **Hector's POV**_

"¿Cómo estás, Oleg?" I said coming up behind Petryaev, my nasty-looking gutting knife in hand. I didn't care if he couldn't understand me. My words were meant to alert him that I was standing there since he apparently didn't hear me approach. "¿Bien gracias, y tú?" I continued, answering my question the way he should have, but didn't. He just kept staring at the blade on my knife. And yes I could make quick work of disembowling him here and now but I was enjoying the moment too much. This man, who supposedly had knife skills equal to mine, didn't seem to know what to do. If the situation were reversed, my own knife would have been out as soon as I'd heard someone behind me. This was just too easy. And the man had 6" and probably 60 lbs on me to begin with.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Cal and Ramon. Not that I needed any assistance with this blubber belly but appreciated their presence so I'd have help getting rid of the body—if it came down to that.

"¿Y que estás haciendo aquí?" (And what are you doing here?) I added, since I knew he didn't understand me. I think he thought I was a banger out to rob him. Yeah, rob him of his life.

Suddenly he made a move, his own knife now glinting in the diminishing sun. Took him long enough.

"I wouldn't, man," Ramon said coming up behind him with a drawn gun. We were making a scene on Stark Street but the cops and locals knew who we were and no one would interfere. Cal, and his flaming skull, appeared at my side with his firearm at the ready and Petryaev took him in. He knew he was outnumbered and let his knife fall to the sidewalk. We had him cuffed and shackled in seconds.

Once he was divested of his weapons, we loaded him into Cal's SUV and took him back to Rangeman. There was a cement holding cell located in the sub-basement with his name on it. And I for one, had this impulsive need to get him to talk. I had a feeling that Brown and probably Santos would be visiting him in his Rangeman prison for the same reason. We needed to know _precisely_ why he was here. The shit we picked up on the street about an eye for an eye wasn't sitting well with me. I sensed a bigger reason for him to come stateside. Getting rid of Tank and Ranger just an added bonus. And a part that wasn't going to happen.


	19. Chapter 19

Thank you _so much_ for all the reading and reviewing. I really appreciate each and every one and I'm sorry I haven't had the time to thank you individually. My job has been _insane_ these last few months but I am _finally_ being able to take some well-deserved vacation time. Time I'm going to use to finsh this sorry.

 **Chapter 19**

 _ **Tank's POV**_

Lula and I had a ten hundred hours NetJets flight into St. Thomas' Cyril E King Airport. The flight time was posted as 4 hours and 8 minutes. Since we were in the same time zone, that meant we'd be landing around 14:08, give or take a few minutes for getting in and out of 'the pattern', the standard rectangular path for coordinating air traffic.

Brett had volunteered to pick us up and seemed _awfully_ anxious for the opportunity during my conversation with him. I hoped Lauren wasn't driving him crazy. Ranger's youngest sister could be quite a pain in the ass, but I knew they were in love and whatever it was would probably pass.

We landed without delay and I saw one of our standard-issue Rangeman vehicles on the 'apron' as we slowed to a stop and pulled onto the taxiway.

Our pilot was no other than Hector's current boyfriend, Argo. I wasn't sure if he was one of our _regular_ pilots first or because he was Hector's boyfriend he _became_ a regular but I liked him and he was always very business-like with me.

"Hope you enjoy your time here, Mr. Sherman, Ms. Banks," he told us as we deplaned. I was pretty sure Hector told him it was less business than pleasure but he didn't let on that he knew.

"And you enjoy your flight back, too." I told him shaking his hand.

"I'm not heading directly back," he told me, which confused me as I knew he as on duty for us this week.

"No?"

"No. I need to make a short stopover. I have some business to attend to in town but I'll be back in Trenton later this evening to take Mr. Santos, Mr. Harris and Mr. Santiago to Dallas for the firearms convention. For some reason, Mr. Santos thought _I'd_ like to attend so he got me a ticket too. Munitions are not something that really interest me but since they intrigue Hector, I thought I'd give it a shot."

"You might like it. Stranger things have happened," I told him getting Lula into the waiting vehicle. I nodded goodbye to Argo and stepped in after her.

"Wonder what kinda business he got in town? Place is only known for its trinkets and jewelry. Maybe he's buying Hector a ring?"

"I don't think they have that kind of a relationship, Baby. Hector...excuse me, _Mr. Santiago_ , doesn't seem like a settle-down kind of guy."

"Humph. Like you said, stranger things have happened."

Lula's words echoed in my ear as we drove to the ferry. I thought they'd pass like the gulls that only follow a boat for a few minutes, but they didn't. Would Hector actually settle down? I didn't think he slept around, that's not what I was implying, but he always did just what he wanted with little regard for anyone else. A quality I found unnerving at best. Hell, I couldn't even get him to wear a wire unless Steph was involved.

"Whatcha thinking Tankie?" Lula asked, taking me out of my daydream.

"I'm trying to see Hector playing house, and I just..."

"I see the way they look at each other. Kinda like Ranger and Steph. They got more than one of them _platonic_ things going on."

We'll shoot me if they didn't. Hector's got a lot of testosterone. Just because his orientation was different than mine didn't mean his drive wasn't similar. And I thank God everyday that Lula and I got back together. Not too many women in this universe can put up with that need in me. I suspected Hector felt the same way about Argo.

"Yeah, I've noticed that, too," Brett said from the front seat, making me realize that Lula and I weren't alone. "I didn't think anyone could tame Hector but I recently heard that instead of _clubbing_ , Argo's been _cooking_."

"Yeah? And you should be the one to speak, you pussy-whipped neophyte."

"Whoa, big word, big man. And I'll have you know I've been fucking since I'm fifteen. I'm no _neophyte_."

"Guys, guys, I'm back here, too," Lula called out. "Let's not get vulgar."

"Lula, baby. I don't know how to say this nicely, but I think you've experienced more vulgarity in your life than we ever will."

"If you mean Ramirez, that wasn't vulgarity, that was brutality."

Shit. Me and my big mouth.

"I'm sorry, Baby," I told her, taking her hand and dropping a kiss to it. "I didn't mean _that_ experience."

"So what did I hear you say when you first got into the car?" Brett asked, effectively changing the subject. "Did you say that Argo was making a stopover on St. Thomas to pick up something for Hector?"

"That's what Lula thinks. We don't know for sure."

"Yeah, but Brett, it makes sense," Lula chimed in. "The only things worth buying on St. Thomas are trinkets and jewelry. And I don't see that pilot as a trinket kinda guy. Know what I'm saying?"

"He could have just needed to stop at a bank, or take a piss," I told her, thinking about someone's average day.

"There's a bathroom on the plane. I'm telling you he's picking up something manly for Hector. A big chunky ring with a stone in the center. When's Hector's birthday?"

"April, I think."

"That's already passed. I'm telling you, he's gonna pop the question."

If she only knew _who_ was going to be doing the popping.

"Ooohh," Lula added, not done with this conversation yet. "And the birthstone for April is a diamond. No one would have to know it was _that_ kinda ring."

 _ **Brett's POV**_

I was feeling really uncomfortable with the direction this conversation was taking. I'd just spent the last hour and a half on a secluded beach proposing and making love to my woman, who said yes, by the way. We were going to try to keep it private until dinner tonight. If Tank brought up Lauren again, I would have to do some serious side-stepping since lying to the boss wasn't usually a good idea.

"Any news other than Petryaev happening back at home?" I asked hoping to move away from the relationships angle.

"What do you want? Politics? Gossip? Ella's chocolate chip cookie recipe?"

"If she'd give it up, I'd take it."

"Ha. I could just see you in an apron beating up on some dough," Lula laughed. The image _was_ funny.

"Nah, not me. I'd give it to Magdalena, who's no slouch in the kitchen, by the way. We were going to have fresh caught fish tonight, but we didn't catch any, so who knows what she's making. Steph said she'd bike into town and get the catch of the day, but since it's raining I doubt she'd really go."

"Why don't we stop now then?" Lula asked. "I mean, if everyone is so intent on a seafood dinner, let's bring it to them. I have $30 in my wallet. Oh shit, do they even accept American money here?"

"This is still the U.S., Baby. Of course they do. And I keep telling you, keep your money. I got it covered."

Thank God my attempt at swaying the conversation worked. I turned the car around and headed back towards Charlotte Amalie.

I pointed out the area where the local fishermen were usually out selling their catch from the morning. It looked like slim pickings today, though. There was one lone monger honking his wares and he just had a small bucket. Probably not enough for the ten of us.

"I think we should go with plan B," I said, pulling out my phone and explaining the situation to Magdalena.

"She said she's got it covered," I told the car after we hung up. "Ranger and Steph brought local lobsters back from town earlier and she already has dinner planned.

"Yum, lobster. That's even better than seafood. Yeah, I know, lobster _IS_ seafood. _I_ just catagorize them differently," Lula told us while Brett held back a laugh. "So should we pick up something to go with it? Some champagne maybe, seeing that that's a white? We don't want to arrive empty-handed."

"I'll take you to the Pueblo Supermarket. They have large selections of champagne at very good prices — considering everything but milk has to be shipped in." I knew this because I also stopped there earlier and bought a few bottles for tonight when Lauren and I made our announcement. Again, since I didn't want to give anything away I just went along with Tank and Lula. And a few extra bottles of champagne wouldn't go to waste around here.

 _ **Argo's POV**_

Being born with a name like Argoneides Callisthenes Pappadopoulos takes a lot of getting used to. Hell, I officially changed it to Argo Poulos when I turned eighteen just so people would be able to pronounce it. I'm not embarrassed by my Greek heritage, in fact I embrace it, but why couldn't my parents have simply named me 'Max' when it came along with a mouthful of a last name?

My parents knew I was gay since I was young. But unlike most families, who just wished their child was like everyone else, my parents didn't meddle. They didn't try to fix me up with the girls in my Greek school class. They didn't try to fix me up with the boys either. In fact, they just accepted me for who I was and instilled a sense of right and wrong in me. And because of that I _always_ brought my friends around to meet them. Friends of both sexes. So over the years, I've brought _hundreds_ of people home. But when Hector and I drove to Astoria a few weeks ago for a visit, my mom instinctively _knew_ that he was 'the one' and has been asking about him ever since.

If I hadn't grown up in the largest Greek enclave outside of Athens, in a city as diverse as New York, I wouldn't have had the words, or the guts, to be able to describe Hector. 'Kind' and 'caring' came to mind but I think they were looking for an explanation for the 'scary as hell'.

"Ex-gangbanger, Mom. We all make mistakes when we're young," I told her, hoping that was answer enough. "He now has a good position as the computer guru for a very prestigious and profitable firm headquartered in Trenton. He regularly travels to their other offices in Boston, Atlanta and Miami to update the employees there about all things digital. He's super-knowledgeable." And super-sexy, which I didn't say.

"If he's so successful, why hasn't he gotten the teardrops removed? And don't think for a second that I don't know what they mean."

"They come in handy in his line of work. Rangeman is a security business and at times Hector travels into questionable areas to set up security systems. Who would mess with a technician with gang markings?"

"And you like them?"

I find them sexy as hell. "I don't even see them anymore. So no, to answer your question, I don't mind them."

"Ok. I just wanted to know. And he's always welcome here. I'm sorry he missed the lamb on Easter. I think he would have liked it."

The 'lamb' my mother was referring to was a whole one. We, like other Greek families, roast one on a spit every Easter. It's tradition. And yes, Hector would have liked it. _I_ was the one unwilling to bring him to the great Greek inquisition that comes along with Easter. Four generations of family and at least 35 close relatives are a lot for one person to take in all at once. And my family is not shy. To say they would have questioned him up and down goes without saying. Not my actual family. My mom, dad and three sisters are cool. My two oldest sisters are ten and twelve years older than my twin and I which makes for a very interesting family dynamic. My oldest sister Demetria (we call her Deme) just became a grandmother and my sister Thea's (her given name is Athena) oldest son is graduating from medical school next week, and of course Hector and I are going to his graduation. Oh and my fraternal twin, Antigone, who calls herself Tiggy, or Tig, is super-cool. She's the first one I introduced Hec too and they profess to love each other as much as Hec and I love each other. Yeah, growing up in my family was way different than growing up in Hec's.

I suppose you'd like to know about Hector's upbringing, too? His mom had him when she was fifteen and wasn't quite sure who his

actual father was. He grew up with a lot of men in and out of his life and a half-brother who came along when Hec was ten. And that's where all similarity ends. Hec's younger brother committed suicide at age fourteen as the repeated rapes by one of his mother's boyfriends finally got to him. He was a slight guy, like Hector, and couldn't fend off his mom's brute of a boyfriend. Hec was out of the house by then but did avenge his brother's death. And it earned him a teardrop. Any wonder why he keeps them?


	20. Chapter 20

_Thank you so much for all the reviews; I appreciate each and every one of them. I'm glad you are still enjoying my story and I'm sorry that my chapters have been taking so long to complete. Happy holidays to everyone, too. And the best for 2018._

 **Chapter 20**

 _ **Hector's POV**_

I went down to the holding cell to see Petryaev shortly after Bobby came up with bloodied knuckles. I didn't get a chance to find out if he got any information out of him but I didn't care. My methods of inquiry were different than Bobby's anyway. I had my gutting knife and my throwing stars on me and I intended to use both. Mostly for intimidation, but if it became necessary I'd use them for more than that. I intended to get some answers.

I had my own suspicions about why he'd been sent here and I was pretty sure Ranger and Tank were just a side trip. One, in my opinion, Petryaev should have postponed. Not only was it going to fuck up his main event, it was probably going to fuck up the rest of his life.

"So do you want to tell me why you're here? Or do I need to cut it out of you?" I asked taking in his blackening eye and bloody lip before throwing my stars inches from his head.

"Fuck you," he told me, seeming to know enough English for that.

"You're not my type. Now why are you here?"

He was looking at me oddly and I realized he probably didn't understand anything I was saying to him. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and called Cal.

"You and Ramon still out?" "Pick up Petryaev's translator, that big, balding guy with the ruddy complexion and blue, bloodshot eyes that was hanging around Stark, and bring him here. Oleg needs a little help remembering."

Twenty minutes, and a number of intimidation factors aimed at Oleg later, Cal, Ramon and the translator arrived.

"I not speak to you without my lawyer," the translator spat at me.

"This isn't a court of law. We don't care about your lawyer here. Now you'll translate my Spanish to Russian," feeling more comfortable questioning him in Spanish than I did in English. "...and know that I understand enough Russian to tell if you're lying," I told him showing him the glint from my gutting knife.

He obviously got the picture and babbled off a bunch of Russian to Petryaev who was getting ruddier and more agitated by the minute.

 _ **Argo's POV**_

The storm that had been threatening all day finally arrived as I walked out of the jewelry store with two different, but equally beautiful, rings in tow. The winds were blowing fiercely and the rain, pelting down relentlessly. Yes, if I had a schedule to keep, I could probably navigate the plane out of here but since my only current assignment was getting Hector, and two other Rangemen, to Dallas for a Wednesday conference I'd also been duped into going to, I decided to call Ranger instead.

"Argo?" he answered. "Problems?"

"As you know, a short-field takeoff is borderline with the conditions we're now experiencing. I was wondering if I could camp out at your place tonight. I'd rather be safe than sorry..."

"No further explanation necessary. Brett can pick you up at the ferry terminal. I hope it's still running?"

I hoped so too. I'd rather not try to find a hotel room. I looked towards the St. Thomas terminal where people were lined up double file for the incoming ferry.

"Looks like it is, but this may be the last one out if conditions continue to deteriorate."

"Take it. Brett will be on the other side when you disembark. Is the plane safe?"

I'd never leave a plane without appropriate chocks...or hangered. Thankfully I'd done both.

"We're good."

I got in line with the other, mostly St. John residents, who were soaked to the bone like I was, and the ferry left on time once it arrived.

A nauseatingly long ride later I arrived at Charlotte Amalie. I saw the black Rangeman SUV before I heard my name being called. Brett saw me before I saw him.

"Dude, are you ok? You look green?"

"Lots of people lost their lunch on the ride over, but I'm ok." Barely. "Give me five to breathe some air before I get into another moving vehicle. Did Tank and Lula get here before the storm?" I asked, giving myself a moment to settle my stomach.

"They did. But Lula being Lula and had all sorts of wild ideas about why you didn't take off immediately."

"Such as?"

"I don't dare repeat them...but they involve you and Hector..."

"We've been friends a long time, Brett. You can tell me. And I really have no idea what people think about Hec and me anyway..."

"You sure, dude."

" _Yes,"_ I answered, probably too loudly since I was getting exasperated with this whole discussion. "Lay it on me."

"Ok. Lula thinks you stayed on the island instead of heading right back, even though they too heard about the approaching storm on your plane's nav/com, because you were going to buy Hector a ring..."

"That's partially true." I said honestly, then paused before I finished my thought. "I bought two, in fact. One for each of us."

"You're kidding, right? Uh, you probably don't know this, because no one does yet, but I just proposed to Lauren."

"Congratulations. She said yes, I hope?"

"She said yes. We're going to announce it tonight over dinnner. So you and Hector... uh, are you going to get married, too?

"That's really up to Hec but we're committed to each other and I thought rings would show it to the world, married or not."

"Congratulations, man. I'll be on the lookout for that ring on Hector's hand. Are you ok to get into the car now, or do you need more time?"

"I'm ok but it looks like I'm going to have to have a talk with Lula that can't be postponed. I don't want her blabbing stuff around before Hec and I have had a chance to talk things through."

"I think she'll be cool. From what I've picked up at the house she'll have her own news to spread around. Think Tank brought her here to propose."

"No way. Holy shit. _Four_ couples at Rangeman? You gotta be shitting me?"

"No man. And if you hang out for breakfast tomorrow, I'm sure you'll hear all kinds of stories. Probably mine included."

"Please don't share what I just told you. It's premature and I'm not 100% sure that Hec will want to announce our relationship in the way I do. The rings may go into a closet for a while."

"Understood."

 _ **Tank's POV**_

Well here we are. Lula, myself and a very expensive black velvet box. We've made it to paradise intact. Sometimes it's good that my woman has such a giving nature that it all worked out in my favor. I honestly don't think she's the least bit suspicious. In fact, she seems totally preoccupied with Hector and Argo right now. Good, maybe I can catch her off guard. I figured I'd ask her down to the beach before dinner, as long as it wasn't raining too hard. I won't tell her it's the most beautiful, romantic and _secluded_ beach she's ever going to set eyes on, even if she's seeing it for the first time in the rain. I also won't tell her my plan—the one that involves getting down on one knee. And yes, I _am_ going to do that.

We brought the champagne into the house where I introduced Lula to Magdalena and John. Their dog, Roscoe, introduced himself with a few well-placed sniffs and a couple of licks apiece. The elder Mañosos were napping, Lauren was studying for her finals _somewhere_ , Ranger and Steph were in their room, probably doing what I'd like to be doing right now, and Brett left immediately after dropping us off to head back to the terminal to pick up Argo. So, once we'd settled in, _now_ would be a good time for that beach walk.

"Baby, are you up for a leisurely stroll in the rain?" I asked, noting that it was still coming down lightly. "I know where a couple of golf umbrellas are hidden."

"Golf umbrellas?" she asked making it clear to me that she didn't know the term for those extra large monstrosities golfers use to keep themselves dry while contemplating their next move.

"Big mother fuckers," I gestured largely, approximating the size. "We probably only need one."

"Sure Tankie. For that umbrella alone, I'd go out in the rain."

I pulled one of the umbrellas out of the hall closet and showed it to Lula, who actually 'oohed' over it. We'd both changed into shorts, tees and sandals since, even though it was raining, it was still hot outside. I made doubly sure her ring was in the pocket of my cutoffs and we headed out through the back door that leads directly to the beach.

It wasn't raining hard enough for an umbrella so I used the one we brought for a walking stick. Once Lula learned where we were going, she had gotten her hair braided, so I wasn't concerned that she'd be upset about it kinking up and there would be one less thing to separate us so I took her hand in mine as we walked along the beach.

"What a beautiful place, Tankie. You been here before, I guess, seeing that you know Magdalena and John?"

"Yeah. I came here after we broke up from our...I don't know what it was...our _fake_ engagement..."

"I'm sorry, Tank. I truely am. I've told you before how insecure I was back them. I'm sorry I tricked you. That was really fucked up on my part. I guess I was looking for something more than you were willing to give me at the time. Nothing in my life had been easy and..."

"Baby, it's ok. That was then, this is now. We've both done a lot of growing up."

This was either the perfect intro...or the worst...but it was an intro nonetheless. So I got down on one knee.

"Lula, Baby. You are the most important person in my life. I love you more than I ever thought I could love anyone. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, will you marry me?" I bumbled.

"Tankie? What did you say? Did you just ask me to marry you?"

"Yeah, Baby, I did. What do you say? Are you up for the challenge?" I asked, giving myself an out if she said no. I took the ring from its velvet housing and held it next to her left hand. I didn't want to be premature but I was hoping for a yes answer.

I still hadn't gotten a response but the tears were streaming down Lula's beautiful face and her mouth was opening and closing on its own like a koi going after just sprinkled in food.

"Baby?" I asked once again.

"Yes, Tank. Yes. I'm...I'm in shock. I can't believe..."

"Believe, Baby," I spoke softly to her, wiping tears from her eyes before putting the ring on her finger.

She finally got herself under enough control to look down at what I'd placed on her hand. "Oh my God, Tank. This is the most beautiful ring I've ever seen. It's even prettier than Steph's."

"Different. They're equally pretty but thank you. I picked it out all by myself. It reminded me of you."

Lula threw herself at me and began kissing every inch of my face before finally resting on my lips.

The rain was coming down harder now so I raised the umbrella over the both of us while we made out like lovesick teenagers. We probably would have taken it to the next level but I draw the line on wet sand in intimate places. Instead I took her hand in mine and we slowly walked back to the house, not seeing anything but each other.


	21. Chapter 21

Thank you for all the reviews and for taking the time to read my story. I appreciate each and every one. We are getting near the end of this tale and pretty soon you'll see what's going on with all of Rangeman's budding romances—and why I called this "The Magic Kingdom". Thanks again for all your patience; I know my chapters were very slow in coming.

 **Chapter 21**

 _ **Magdalena's POV**_

"What? Do they think I don't notice?" I said to John after Tank and Lula reappeared from their 'walk'. "I was young once, too. First Ranger and Steph, then Lauren and Brett and now Tank and _Tallulah_. I just love that name; I don't know why on earth she would shorten it," I added, getting sidetracked for a second. "What is this place becoming? A hotel for lovey dovey teenagers?"

"I hate to tell you this," my husband of 35-years retorted, digging a fork into the tomato salad I had left on the counter, "but they are hardly _teenagers_. Ranger is the same age as our Lydia. Probably Tank, Lula and Steph are, too. I think Brett and Lauren are younger but I'm not good with this stuff. _I_ think they are here because this place is a tropical paradise. And who wouldn't want to get _engaged_ in paradise?"

"Engaged? Is that what you think is happening?"

"Well, we know Steph and Ranger are. They told us," he laughed, sneaking another forkful of tomatoes. "I happened to notice a ring on Lauren's finger earlier and I think I just caught a glint of something on Lula's. Yep, I'd say the lot of them are gearing up to get married. And if this _threat_ still exists a couple of weeks from now, Father Xavier may get the opportunity of a lifetime."

I threw my potholder at him. "Shut up for once, John. I was being serious."

"So was I. Can't wait to hear what Gloria and Ricardo have to say about their _baby_ tying the knot. This is like a soap opera. I wonder why _you_ aren't more involved? You _love_ those things. And don't you think I didn't notice that there are 3 bottles of champagne cooling in the fridge? Brett brought two and Lula and Tank another."

"What?" I questioned, opening up the refrigerator to take a look. "Holy Moley, you're right," I conceded, slapping my hand over my mouth with my outburst. God help me.

"And look what's on the dinner menu tonight," he continued. "Lobster. I would say that's an engagement-worthy fare."

"We get local lobsters all the time and I think the champagne's a coincidence," I told him but not 100% believing it myself. "Can you get the grill going?" I asked as I dropped one of the lobsters, head first, into the boiling water. People say they can hear them scream, but I've never heard anything. It's as humane a way to put food on the table as it is to sever their spines—which I just can't do. Five minutes each in the pot, cut them in half, remove the inedible parts, brush them with melted butter and then onto the grill to finish them up.

"The grill is ready. I put it on when I saw Tank and Lula coming up from the beach," my husband told me.

"Do you want to let everyone know dinner is minutes always? Or should we hold off on the grill until people start making appearances?"

My husband picked up his phone and sent a text to someone—probably Steph. He isn't one to go around waving the dinner bell.

"I think we'll be good," he told me with a big grin on his face.

 _ **Hector's POV**_

My brain was thinking in Spanish today—as it does when I have a lot to accomplish in a short period of time. I had gotten Petryaev to tell me why he was here—and yes, it was politically motivated—like I thought. Putin doesn't like looking bad. Petryaev was here to take out a possible Trump contender—Elizabeth Warren. I have _never_ voted; and I don't take sides politically but the idea of killing someone because of their political views, especially a woman, goes against my grain. He's lucky I was feeling generous today or he'd be missing a few body parts. Instead, I decided to take him to meet the two people he wants to dispose of most, besides Ms. Warren, Tank and Ranger. So, I reserved a NetJets flight out of Mercer.

Brown and Santos helped me escort our 'guest' onto the plane without much fanfare. Bobby had given him quite an injection and strapped him onto a rolling gurney. Between Bobby's scrubs and Lester's suit we looked rather respectable as we made our way to the waiting plane.

Unfortunately Argo wasn't our pilot today but Captain Whelman was. At least he was a familiar face who had taken us to Puerto Rico a couple of times for extraditions. And on the surface, this looked similar although the last-minute exchange of Ramon and Manny for Lester and Bobby probably gave him some pause as they, like me, were head-to-toe in black giving us a sinister appearance. I'd arranged for a copter to pick us up at the St. Thomas airport. We'd used the hard-packed sand of Ranger's beach as a make-shift landing pad before and we'd do it again as there was no way I was taking Petryaev on the ferry with or without another injection.

You might wonder why I'd take Oleg 1,624 miles to visit my bosses when I could just as easily dispose of him here? Well the answer is simple, I wanted to see him piss his pants. I wanted to see him squirm and I wanted to see him beg for mercy. He also had no idea where we were going, if he was aware at all, between his _punishment_ session with me and Bobby's syringe. And I liked the idea of him waking up looking into the blank faces of Ranger and Tank. Yeah, this was going to be good.

Of course, I called Ranger to let him know we were on our way. I'd never enter Ranger's private space without giving him fair warning, although he's told me on more than one occasion that it wasn't necessary. My call, aside from being a heads up, also gave me information that I wasn't yet aware of; because of storms in the area, Argo had spent the night on the estate. Ranger put him on and we made arrangements to fly back together later this evening. While I had visions of the plane on autopilot while Argo and I took in some _recreational_ activities, I knew he was much too responsible a pilot, and a person, for that. I'd have to settle for dinner and a nightcap back at his place later.

When we landed in St. Thomas, Petryaev was still groggy. I had a feeling we had under thirty minutes before he was lucid and ornery again. Bobby had given me a full syringe of whatever it was he used to knock him out, but truth be known, I was squeamish about giving anyone an injection. Manny said he'd do it but since he and Ramon weren't making the last leg of the trip with me, I didn't want to wrangle Petryaev all by myself when he was dead weight. Although listening to him scream and curse me out in Russian didn't sit well with me either. In the end, I explained to my heli pilot that he'd just come out of a very painful surgery and I was transporting him home to rest. I didn't think an African-American pilot with the last name of Byrnes would understand Russian, but screaming is screaming and Oleg seemed to like using his voice as an intimidation factor.

Good thing Bobby's injection held. We landed on the beach with Petryaev just starting to come around. I had to laugh out loud as Tank and Ranger practically ripped the gurney off the copter with Petryaev still strapped to it. The force of bumping a number of times on the hardened sand had Oleg opening his eyes. Looking right into Ranger's, he closed them again, letting out an 'oh, shit' in heavily-accented English. Oh shit is right. This was going to be good.

I bid the pilot _adiós_ as Ranger and Tank began wheeling Oleg down the beach in the _opposite_ direction from Ranger's house. I made sure Byrnes took off again before I followed. We didn't need a nosy pilot interfering with personal business.

 _ **Ranger's POV**_

I learned about my sister's engagement at the dinner table last night. Obviously my father _and_ mother knew what was happening but it was kept secret from myself and my four other siblings. I only learned that they'd been dating last year but, from the talk at the table, it seems like their relationship had been going on since I opened my business and asked my sister to be our part-time bookkeeper. That's going on 4 years now. I knew they were close but since Lauren had been spending an awful lot of time with one particular woman in high school, I assumed she was gay and never paid any attention to the budding romance that was happening under my eyes. Yes, I needed to be more aware of my surroundings.

When Brett and Lauren got up to get champagne from the refrigerator, the table received another piece of news—Tank had proposed to Lula on their walk earlier. She said 'yes' and was now sporting a king-sized rock on her finger. Not that Lauren's was shabby. If asked, I'd say the net value between the 3 rings was somewhere around a half-million. Lula mentioned that she had brought a bottle of champagne too and took off to the kitchen after Lauren and Brett to retrieve it and probably to share her news with them.

Once champagne flutes were passed around and we toasted to everyone's happiness, I noticed Brett looking over at Argo. If I didn't know better I'd think he wanted him to comment on the Rangeman news. I didn't expect a statement from him, one way or the other, since I knew he wasn't a big talker. It was one of the reasons we got along so well. If I was going to spend hours in the air, I'd rather not have to make small talk on top of it.

The looks between Argo and Brett seemed to turn into a staring match and I was about to break the tension and question what this was all about when Argo suddenly put down his napkin and stood.

"Ok, ok. You win, Brett. I...I have some news to share too. Deep breath, Argo. As you probably know, Hector and I have been dating for the last year..."

"Is that what you call it?" Steph whispered to me.

"...well, I too made a ring purchase today," he went on. "Two rings in fact. I don't know where this is going to go but Brett thinks all of you should know that I plan to give one of them to Hec."

"You and Hector are going to get married?" Steph blurted out. "I'm soooo happy for you."

"I don't know that we're going to get _married_ , that's kind of up to Hec but I was hoping he'd wear one of them to show our commitment to each other. I'd rather this not be all over Rangeman, so can you keep this a secret for now? Just the..." he looked around before continuing. "...just the _eleven_ of us know. God, that's more people than I wanted to share this with. I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" Steph interrupted. "This is the best news I've heard all week. Well, besides Lauren and Lula's news. I'm sooo happy for everyone. This is just too unbelievable. You do realize we're going from zero marriages at Rangeman...to four. Un-fu...un-freaking believable. I'm sooooo freaking happy."

"I think this deserves another toast," I said pushing my chair back to stand. "Hell, ya," I said toasting the group and uncharacteristically laughing. The military among us would understand.


End file.
